Highlights: • Pebble flow uniformity and stagnation characteristics are very important for HTR-PM. • Arc- and brachistochrone-shaped configuration effects are studied by DEM simulation. • Best bed configurations with uniform flow and no stagnated pebbles are suggested. • Detailed quantified characteristics of bed configuration effects are shown for explanation. - Abstract: Pebble flow uniformity and stagnation characteristics are very important for the design of pebble bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor. Pebble flows inside some specifically designed contraction configurations of pebble bed are studied by discrete element method. The results show the characteristics of stagnation rates, recycling rates, radial distribution of pebble velocity and residence time. It is demonstrated clearly that the bed with a brachistochrone-shaped configuration achieves optimum levels of flow uniformity and recycling rate concentration, and almost no pebbles are stagnated in the bed. Moreover, the optimum choice among the arc-shaped bed configurations is demonstrated too. Detailed information shows the quantified characteristics of bed configuration effects on flow uniformity. In addition, a good design of the pebble bed configuration is suggested.

Here we derive an approximate turbulent self-similar model for a class of favorable pressure gradient wedge-like flows, focusing on the stagnation point limit. While the self-similar model provides a useful gross flow field estimate this approach must be combined with a near wall model is to determine skin friction and by Reynolds analogy the heat transfer coefficient. The combined approach is developed in detail for the stagnation point flow problem where turbulent skin friction and Nusselt number results are obtained. Comparison to the classical Van Driest (1958) result suggests overall reasonable agreement. Though the model is only valid near the stagnation region of cylinders and spheres it nonetheless provides a reasonable model for overall cylinder and sphere heat transfer. The enhancement effect of free stream turbulence upon the laminar flow is used to derive a similar expression which is valid for turbulent flow. Examination of free stream enhanced laminar flow suggests that the rather than enhancement of a laminar flow behavior free stream disturbance results in early transition to turbulent stagnation point behavior. Excellent agreement is shown between enhanced laminar flow and turbulent flow behavior for high levels, e.g. 5% of free stream turbulence. Finally the blunt body turbulent stagnation results are shown to provide realistic heat transfer results for turbulent jet impingement problems.

A number of important industrial applications exploit the ability of small quantities of high molecular weight polymer to suppress instabilities that arise in the equivalent flow of Newtonian fluids, a particular example being turbulent drag reduction. However, it can be extremely difficult to probe exactly how the polymer acts to, e.g., modify the streamwise near-wall eddies in a fully turbulent flow. Using a novel cross-slot flow configuration, we exploit a flow instability in order to create and study a single steady-state streamwise vortex. By quantitative experiment, we show how the addition of small quantities (parts per million) of a flexible polymer to a Newtonian solvent dramatically affects both the onset conditions for this instability and the subsequent growth of the axial vorticity. Complementary numerical simulations with a finitely extensible nonlinear elastic dumbbell model show that these modifications are due to the growth of polymeric stress within specific regions of the flow domain. Our data fill a significant gap in the literature between the previously reported purely inertial and purely elastic flow regimes and provide a link between the two by showing how the instability mode is transformed as the fluid elasticity is varied. Our results and novel methods are relevant to understanding the mechanisms underlying industrial uses of weakly elastic fluids and also to understanding inertioelastic instabilities in more confined flows through channels with intersections and stagnation points.

Given a temporal sequence of images of fluids we will use local polynomials to regularise obser-vations of normal flows into smooth flow fields. This technique furthermore allows us to give a qualitative local description of the flow field and to estimate the position of stagnation points...

distribution of spatio-temporal energy, which is sampled using a set of spatio-temporal quadrature filters. These observations of normal flows are then integrated into smooth flow fields by locally approximating first order polynomials in the spatial coordinates to the flow vectors. This technique furthermore......In a topological sense fluid flows are characterised by their stagnation points. Given a temporal sequence of images of fluids we will consider the application of local polynomials to the estimation of smooth fluid flow fields. The normal flow at intensity contours is estimated from the local...... allows us to give a qualitative local description of the flow field and to estimate the position of stagnation points (e.g. nodes, saddles, and centers). We will apply the algorithm to two data sets. The first sequence consists of infrared images from the meteorological satellite Meteosat. Here...

The effects of localized two-dimensional disturbances on the structure of shear flows featuring a stagnation line are investigated. A simple superposition of a planar Couette flow and Moffatt's [J. Fluid Mech. 18, 1--18 (1964)] streamfunction for the decay of a disturbance between infinite stationary parallel plates shows that in general the stagnation line is replaced by a chain of alternating elliptic and hyperbolic stagnation points with a separation equal to 2.78 times the half-gap betwee...

Following a postulated inlet-side small break in the CANDU reactor, emergency coolant is injected to refull the horizontal fuel channels and remove the decay heat. As part of the accident analysis, the effects of loss of forced circulation during the accident are predicted. A break size exists for which, at the end of pump rundown, the break force balances the natural circulation force and the channel flow is reduced to near zero. The subcooled, stagnant channel condition is referred to as the standing-start condition. Subsequently, the channel coolant boils and stratifies. Eventually the steam flow from the channel heats up the endfitting to the saturation temperature and reaches the vertical feeder. The resulting buoyancy-induced flow then refills the channel. One dimensional, two-fluid conservation equations are solved in closed form to predict the duration of stagnation. In this calculation the channel water level is an important intermediate variable because it determines the amount of steam production

A theoretical study is made in the region near the stagnation point when a lighter incompressible viscoelastic fluids impinges orthogonally on the surface of another quiescent heavier incompressible viscous fluid. Similarity solutions of the momentum balance equations for both fluids are equalized at the interface. It isnoted ...

The aim of the present contribution is to analyze the effect of slip parameter on the stability of a laminar incompressible flow near a stagnation point in the slip flow regime. The analysis is based on the traditional normal mode approach and assumes parallel flow approximation. The Orr-Sommerfeld equation that governs the infinitesimal disturbance of stream function imposed to the steady main flow, which is an exact solution of the Navier-Stokes equation satisfying slip boundary conditions, is obtained by using the powerful spectral Chebyshev collocation method. The results of the effect of slip parameter K on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the base flow, namely the velocity profile, the shear stress profile, the boundary layer, displacement and momentum thicknesses are illustrated and discussed. The numerical data for these characteristics, as well as those of the eigenvalues and the corresponding wave numbers recover the results of the special case of no-slip boundary conditions. They are found to be in good agreement with previous numerical calculations. The effects of slip parameter on the neutral curves of stability, for two-dimensional disturbances in the Reynolds-wave number plane, are then obtained for the first time in the slip flow regime for stagnation point flow. Furthermore, the evolution of the critical Reynolds number against the slip parameter is established. The results show that the critical Reynolds number for instability is significantly increased with the slip parameter and the flow turn out to be more stable when the effect of rarefaction becomes important.

An experimental study was performed to determine the axial void fraction distribution along a heated rod bundle under flowstagnation conditions. The development of the flow pattern was investigated for different heat flow rates. It was found that in general the void fraction is overestimated by the Zuber & Findlay model while the Chexal-Lellouche correlation produces a better prediction.

A model, called THERMOSS, is developed to compute the duration of stagnation in a CANDU reactor fuel channel with subcooled, stagnant initial conditions. The model solves, in closed form, the one dimensional, two-fluid conservation equations. In the computation of the duration of stagnation, the channel water level is an important intermediate variable because it determines the amount of steam production. A feature of the model is that water level is determined by a momentum balance between frictional pressure drop in the steam phase and hydrostatic head in the liquid phase. This is in contrast to an ealier model in which the level was determined from mass balance considerations. A satisfactory agreement between the predicted and experimentally observed channel water level and duration of stagnation is obtained. (orig.)

An analysis is carried out to study the steady two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of a nanofluid over a stretching/shrinking sheet in its own plane. The stretching/shrinking velocity and the ambient fluid velocity are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation point. The similarity equations are solved numerically for three types of nanoparticles, namely copper, alumina, and titania in the water-based fluid with Prandtl number Pr = 6.2. The skin friction coefficient, Nu...

A three-dimensional particle tracking model for colloid transport in porous media was developed that predicts colloid retention in porous media in the presence of an energy barrier via two mechanisms: (1) wedging of colloids within grain to grain contacts; (2) retention of colloids (without attachment) in flowstagnation zones. The model integrates forces experienced by colloids during transport in porous media, i.e., fluid drag, gravity, diffusion, and colloid-surface Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek interactions. The model was implemented for a fluid flow field that explicitly represented grain to grain contacts. The model utilized a variable time stepping routine to allow finer time steps in zones of rapid change in fluid velocity and colloid-surface interaction forces. Wedging was favored by colloid: collector ratios greater than about 0.005, with this threshold ratio increasing with decreasing fluid velocity. Retention in flowstagnation zones was demonstrated for colloid: collector ratios less than about 0.005, with this threshold decreasing with increasing fluid velocity. Both wedging and retention in flowstagnation zones were sensitive to colloid-surface interaction forces (energy barrier height and secondary energy minimum depth). The model provides a mechanistic basis for colloid retention in the presence of an energy barrier via processes that were recently hypothesized to explain experimental observations.

The hypersonic aircraft permeable cylindrical and spherical surfaces laminar boundary layer heat and mass transfer control mathematical model properties are investigated. The nonlinear algebraic equations systems are obtained for two special values of temperature factor in the hypersonic flowstagnation point. The mappings bijectivity between heat and mass transfer local parameters and controls is established. The computation experiments results are presented: the domains of allowed values “heat-friction” are obtained.

The characteristics of three-dimensional stagnation point flow of Hybrid nanofluid past a circular cylinder are explored. The fluid flow is entertained in the presence/absence of thermal slip effects. The flow model is controlled through the partial differential equations. Since these equations are highly non-linear in character. So for the order reduction a suitable set of transformation is used. The reduced system is solved by using shooting method. The obtained results are offered through graphs and tables. It is noticed that the heat transfer rate is high in Hybrid nanofluid as compared to nanofluid. The present work is validated by developing comprising with existing literature.

An investigation has been made to study the off-centered stagnationflow of a couple stress fluid over a rotating disk. The model developed for the governing problem in the form of partial differential equations has been converted to ordinary differential equations with the use of suitable similarity transformation. The analytical approximation has been made with the most promising analytical approach, homotopy analysis method (HAM). The convergence region of the obtained solution is determined and plotted. The effects of couple stress and nondimensional parameters have been observed on the flows of couple stress fluid. Also comparison has been made with the Newtonian fluid as the special case of considered problem.

Full Text Available Global market competition, increase in energy and other production costs, demands for high quality products and reduction of waste are forcing pharmaceutical, fine chemicals and biochemical industries, to search for radical solutions. One of the most effective ways to improve the overall production (cost reduction and better control of reactions is a transition from batch to continuous processes. However, the reactions of interests for the mentioned industry sectors are often slow, thus continuous tubular reactors would be impractically long for flow regimes which provide sufficient heat and mass transfer and narrow residence time distribution. The oscillatory flowreactors (OFR are newer type of tube reactors which can offer solution by providing continuous operation with approximately plug flow pattern, low shear stress rates and enhanced mass and heat transfer. These benefits are the result of very good mixing in OFR achieved by vortex generation. OFR consists of cylindrical tube containing equally spaced orifice baffles. Fluid oscillations are superimposed on a net (laminar flow. Eddies are generated when oscillating fluid collides with baffles and passes through orifices. Generation and propagation of vortices create uniform mixing in each reactor cavity (between baffles, providing an overall flow pattern which is close to plug flow. Oscillations can be created by direct action of a piston or a diaphragm on fluid (or alternatively on baffles. This article provides an overview of oscillatory flowreactor technology, its operating principles and basic design and scale - up characteristics. Further, the article reviews the key research findings in heat and mass transfer, shear stress, residence time distribution in OFR, presenting their advantages over the conventional reactors. Finally, relevant process intensification examples from pharmaceutical, polymer and biofuels industries are presented.

A novel combustor design, referred to as the Stagnation Point Reverse-Flow (SPRF) combustor, was recently developed that is able to operate stably at very lean fuel-air mixtures and with low NOx emissions even when the fuel and air are not premixed before entering the combustor. The primary objective of this work is to elucidate the underlying physics behind the excellent stability and emissions performance of the SPRF combustor. The approach is to experimentally characterize velocities, species mixing, heat release and flame structure in an atmospheric pressure SPRF combustor with the help of various optical diagnostic techniques: OH PLIF, chemiluminescence imaging, PIV and Spontaneous Raman Scattering. Results indicate that the combustor is primarily stabilized in a region downstream of the injector that is characterized by low average velocities and high turbulence levels; this is also the region where most of the heat release occurs. High turbulence levels in the shear layer lead to increased product entrainment levels, elevating the reaction rates and thereby enhancing the combustor stability. The effect of product entrainment on chemical timescales and the flame structure is illustrated with simple reactor models. Although reactants are found to burn in a highly preheated (1300 K) and turbulent environment due to mixing with hot product gases, the residence times are sufficiently long compared to the ignition timescales such that the reactants do not autoignite. Turbulent flame structure analysis indicates that the flame is primarily in the thin reaction zones regime throughout the combustor, and it tends to become more flamelet like with increasing distance from the injector. Fuel-air mixing measurements in case of non-premixed operation indicate that the fuel is shielded from hot products until it is fully mixed with air, providing nearly premixed performance without the safety issues associated with premixing. The reduction in NOx emissions in the SPRF

This paper describes a method for categorizing an atmospheric flow condition of a site by using integral quantities for characterizing stagnation and recirculation. Authors have devised a method for categorizing flow conditions using distribution curves which represent the flow condition of the whole of Korea. It was found that the flow conditions for four nuclear power plant sites were good enough from a meteorological aspect. Among the four sites, Kori nuclear power plant site which is located at the south-eastern part of the Korean peninsular shows the best condition. Meteorological condition is the key factor for estimating the environmental effects of a nuclear facility. The devised method can be used for assessing the relative environmental risk of a nuclear facility with only meteorological data. And the devised categorization method can be used for choosing a suitable site for an industrial facility such as a nuclear power plant and a chemical complex. (author)

Here the influence of the non-Fourier heat flux in a two-dimensional (2D) stagnation point flow of Eyring-Powell liquid towards a nonlinear stretched surface is reported. The stretching surface is of variable thickness. Thermal conductivity of fluid is taken temperature-dependent. Ordinary differential systems are obtained through the implementation of meaningful transformations. The reduced non-dimensional expressions are solved for the convergent series solutions. Convergence interval is obtained for the computed solutions. Graphical results are displayed and analyzed in detail for the velocity, temperature and skin friction coefficient. The obtained results reveal that the temperature gradient enhances when the thermal relaxation parameter is increased.

Full Text Available The effects of partial slip on stagnation-point flow and heat transfer due to a stretching vertical sheet is investigated. Using a similarity transformation, the governing partial differential equations are reduced into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The resulting equations are solved numerically using a shooting method. The effect of slip and buoyancy parameters on the velocity, temperature, skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are graphically presented and discussed. It is found that dual solutions exist in a certain range of slip and buoyancy parameters. The skin friction coefficient decreases while the Nusselt number increases as the slip parameter increases.

Full Text Available The paper studies the unsteady mixed convection flow of an incompressible viscous fluid about a stagnation point on a stretching sheet in presence of velocity and thermal slips. The governing equations are transformed into the ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformations. The transformed equations are solved numerically by an efficient shooting method. The characteristics of the flow and heat transfer features for governing parameters are analyzed and discussed for both the assisting and opposing flows. It is found that dual solutions exist for certain range of buoyancy parameter λ which again depend on the unsteadiness parameter α and the slip parameters (i.e., δ and γ. The numerical results show that the increase of unsteadiness parameter and the slip effects cause increment in the existence range of similarity solution. The effects of unsteadiness parameter, the velocity ratio parameter, and the velocity and thermal slip parameters on the velocity and temperature distributions are analyzed and discussed.

Full Text Available This paper investigates the stagnation point flow of second grade nanomaterial towards a nonlinear stretching surface subject to variable surface thickness. The process of heat transfer is examined through the melting heat and mixed convection effects. Further novel features regarding Brownian motion and thermophoresis are present. Boundary-layer approximation is employed in the problem formulation. Momentum, energy and concentration equations are converted into the non-linear ordinary differential system through the appropriate transformations. Convergent solutions for resulting problem are computed. Behaviors of various sundry variables on temperature and concentration are studied in detail. The skin friction coefficient and heat and mass transfer rates are also computed and analyzed. Our results indicate that the temperature and concentration distributions are enhanced for larger values of thermophoresis parameter. Further the present work is hoped to be useful in improving the performance of heat transfer of base fluid. Keywords: Stagnation-point flow, Second grade fluid, Nanoparticles, Melting heat process, Nonlinear stretching surface, Variable surface thickness

Full Text Available Combined effects of Soret (thermal-diffusion and Dufour (diffusion-thermo in MHD stagnation point flow of tangent hyperbolic fluid by a stretching sheet are discussed in the present article. The laws of conservation of mass, momentum, energy and concentration are employed to develop the mathematical model of physical phenomenon. Suitable transformations lead to convert the nonlinear partial differential equations into the ordinary differential equations. The series solutions of boundary layer equations along with boundary conditions are obtained. Convergence of the developed series solutions is discussed via plots and numerical values. The behaviors of different physical parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration fields are plotted and analyzed. Numerical values of skin friction coefficient, local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are computed and analyzed. It is found that Dufour and Soret numbers result in the enhancement of temperature and concentration distributions, respectively. Furthermore a comparison is presented with the previous published results in a limiting way to justify the present solutions. Keywords: Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD, Stagnation point flow, Tangent hyperbolic fluid, Soret-Dufour effects

Full Text Available Present analysis is carried out to study the two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of an in-compressible Carreau fluid toward a shrinking surface. The formulation of the Carreau fluid model has been developed first time for boundary layer problem of shrinking sheet and the governing partial differential equations are rehabilitated into ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The simplified nonlinear boundary value problem is solved by Runge-Kutta method after converting into the system of initial value problem using shooting method. Dual solutions are obtained graphically and results are shown for various parameters involved in the flow equations. Numerical values of skin friction coefficients are also computed.

This paper is about the stagnation point flow and mass transfer with chemical reaction past a stretching/shrinking cylinder. The governing partial differential equations in cylindrical form are transformed into ordinary differential equations by a similarity transformation. The transformed equations are solved numerically using a shooting method. Results for the skin friction coefficient, Schmidt number, velocity profiles as well as concentration profiles are presented for different values of the governing parameters. Effects of the curvature parameter, stretching/shrinking parameter and Schmidt number on the flow and mass transfer characteristics are examined. The study indicates that dual solutions exist for the shrinking cylinder but for the stretching cylinder, the solution is unique. It is observed that the surface shear stress and the mass transfer rate at the surface increase as the curvature parameter increases.

Analysis of loss of coolant accident (LOCA) scenarios in nuclear reactor safety evaluation depends on knowledge of many complex phenomena. A primary phenomenon controlling the sequence of events, by determining the residual coolant mass inventory within the primary system, is the critical flow process. Critical flow of a flashing liquid is complicated by marked departure from thermal equilbrium. Several complex models have been proposed to represent the non-equilibrium effects, including six-equation two-fluid models. In the present paper a new cavity flooding model is used for the evaluation of pressure undershoot at flashing inception. This model is similar to the one developed by Fabic (1964) for the evaluation of liquid superheat required for boiling on a surface subjected to transient heating. The model contains an experimentally deduced factor, which is correlated against stagnation subcooling using the experimental data of Amos and Schrock (1983, 1984), Jeandey et al. (1981), and the Marviken tests (Anon., 1979). The model was then tested against seven additional data sets and shown to be very accurate in predicted mass flux (standard deviation of 10.9% for all data). The cavity flooding model is thought to represent the true physics more correctly than does the earlier model, which had its origin in molecular fluctuation theory

Full Text Available In the present paper, we endeavor to perform a numerical analysis in connection with the nonlinear radiative stagnation-point flow and heat transfer to Sisko fluid past a stretching cylinder in the presence of convective boundary conditions. The influence of thermal radiation using nonlinear Rosseland approximation is explored. The numerical solutions of transformed governing equations are calculated through forth order Runge-Kutta method using shooting technique. With the help of graphs and tables, the influence of non-dimensional parameters on velocity and temperature along with the local skin friction and Nusselt number is discussed. The results reveal that the temperature increases however, heat transfer from the surface of cylinder decreases with the increasing values of thermal radiation and temperature ratio parameters. Moreover, the authenticity of numerical solutions is validated by finding their good agreement with the HAM solutions.

Analytical results are presented for a steady three-dimensional free convection flow in the stagnation point region over a general curved isothermal surface placed in a nanofluid. The momentum equations in x- and y-directions, energy balance equation, and nanoparticle concentration equation are reduced to a set of four fully coupled nonlinear differential equations under appropriate similarity transformations. The well known technique optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM) is used to obtain the exact solution explicitly, whose convergence is then checked in detail. Besides, the effects of the physical parameters, such as the Lewis number, the Brownian motion parameter, the thermophoresis parameter, and the buoyancy ratio on the profiles of velocities, temperature, and concentration, are studied and discussed. Furthermore the local skin friction coefficients in x- and y-directions, the local Nusselt number, and the local Sherwood number are examined for various values of the physical parameters.

This investigation is concerned with the stagnation-point flow of nanofluid past an exponentially stretching sheet. The presence of Brownian motion and thermophoretic effects yields a coupled nonlinear boundary-value problem (BVP). Similarity transformations are invoked to reduce the partial differential equations into ordinary ones. Local similarity solutions are obtained by homotopy analysis method (HAM), which enables us to investigate the effects of parameters at a fixed location above the sheet. The numerical solutions are also derived using the built-in solver bvp4c of the software MATLAB. The results indicate that temperature and the thermal boundary layer thickness appreciably increase when the Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects are strengthened. Moreover the nanoparticles volume fraction is found to increase when the thermophoretic effect intensifies.

Full Text Available In this paper, an investigation is performed to analyze the effects of the slip parameters A and B on the steady stagnation-point flow and heat transfer due to a shrinking sheet in a viscous and incompressible fluid. Using similarity transformations, the governing boundary layer equations are transformed into the nonlinear ordinary (similar differential equations. The transformed equations are solved numerically using the shooting method. The dual solutions for velocity and temperature distribution exist for certain values of the positive constant velocity and temperature slip parameters. Likewise, a stability analysis has been performed to find the nature of the dual solutions. The velocity slip will delay the boundary layer separation whereas the temperature slip does not affect the boundary layer separation.

In the present paper, we endeavor to perform a numerical analysis in connection with the nonlinear radiative stagnation-point flow and heat transfer to Sisko fluid past a stretching cylinder in the presence of convective boundary conditions. The influence of thermal radiation using nonlinear Rosseland approximation is explored. The numerical solutions of transformed governing equations are calculated through forth order Runge-Kutta method using shooting technique. With the help of graphs and tables, the influence of non-dimensional parameters on velocity and temperature along with the local skin friction and Nusselt number is discussed. The results reveal that the temperature increases however, heat transfer from the surface of cylinder decreases with the increasing values of thermal radiation and temperature ratio parameters. Moreover, the authenticity of numerical solutions is validated by finding their good agreement with the HAM solutions.

Full Text Available This work concentrates on the mathematical modeling for stagnation point flow of nanofluids over an impermeable stretching sheet with variable thickness. Carbon nanotubes [single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs] as the nanoparticles are utilized. Water and kerosene oil are taken as the base fluids. Heat transfer through melting effect is discussed. Transformation procedure is adapted to obtain the non-linear ordinary differential equations from the fundamental laws of mass, linear momentum and energy. The optimal values of convergence control parameters and corresponding individual and total residual errors for SWCNTs and MWCNTs are computed by means of homotopy analysis method (HAM based BVPh 2.0. Characteristics of different involved parameters on the velocity, temperature, skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number are discussed. Higher velocity profile is observed for wall thickness parameter in case of water carbon nanotubes when compared with the kerosene oil carbon nanotubes.

Full Text Available In this paper we consider the steady two dimensional flow of micro polar fluids on a flat plate. The flow under discussion is the modified Hiemenz flow for a micro polar fluid which occurs in the hjkns + skms boundary layer near an orthogonal stagnation point. The full governing equation reduced to a modified Hiemenz flow. The solution to the boundary value problem is governed by two non dimensional parameters, the material parameter K and the ratio of the micro rotation to skin friction parameter n. The obtained nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations are solved by using the Homotopy perturbation method. Comparison between numerical and analytical solutions of the problem is shown in tables form for different values of the governing parameters K and n. Effects of the material parameter K on the velocity profile and microrotation profiles for different cases of n are discussed graphically as well as numerically. Velocity profile decreases as the material parameter K increases and the microrotation profile increases as the material parameter K increases for different cases of n.

Pair distribution functions of polystyrene particles adhering on a quartz collector surface are compared for a parallel plate (PP) and stagnation point (SP) flow chamber at a common Peclet number and identical surface coverage. Radial pair distribution functions of deposition patterns around the

This paper investigates the behavior of MHD stagnation point flow of Carreau fluid in the presence of infinite shear rate viscosity. Additionally heat transfer analysis in the existence of non-linear radiation with convective boundary condition is performed. Moreover effects of Joule heating is observed and mathematical analysis is presented in the presence of viscous dissipation. The suitable transformations are employed to alter the leading partial differential equations to a set of ordinary differential equations. The subsequent non-straight common ordinary differential equations are solved numerically by an effective numerical approach specifically Runge-Kutta Fehlberg method alongside shooting technique. It is found that the higher values of Hartmann number (M) correspond to thickening of the thermal and thinning of momentum boundary layer thickness. The analysis further reveals that the fluid velocity is diminished by increasing the viscosity ratio parameter (β∗) and opposite trend is observed for temperature profile for both hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic flows. In addition the momentum boundary layer thickness is increased with velocity ratio parameter (α) and opposite is true for thermal boundary layer thickness.

The performance of dry, low NOx gas turbines, which employ lean premixed (or partially premixed) combustors, is often limited by static and dynamic combustor stability, and they require complicated mixing hardware. To overcome these issues, a novel design, referred to as a Stagnation Point Reverse Flow (SPRF) combustor, has been recently demonstrated. The SPRF combustor has been shown to operate with ultra low NOx emissions in premixed and nonpremixed modes with gaseous and liquid fuels. The objective of this thesis is to elucidate the interactions between the flowfield and combustion processes in this novel combustor for gas- and liquid-fueled operation. This is achieved with experimental measurements employing various optical diagnostic techniques, which include Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), chemiluminescence imaging, Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) of OH radicals and elastic laser scattering from liquid droplets. The velocity measurements obtained during gas-fueled operation show that both nonreacting and reacting flows exhibit a "stagnation" region with low mean velocity and high RMS fluctuations. In nonreacting flow, it has been shown that the decay rate of the jet can be modeled as a combination of a free jet and a jet in a uniform opposed flow. The high shear between the forward and reverse flows causes significant recirculation, resulting in enhanced entrainment and mixing of the returning hot product gases into the incoming reactant jet for the reacting flow cases, which enables stable operation of the combustor at very lean equivalence ratios. Nonpremixed operation produces a flowfield similar to that of the premixed case except in the near-field region. The coaxial injector design results in high turbulence intensities close to the injector exit leading to significant fuel-air premixing before combustion occurs. The operation of the SPRF combustor fueled with liquid Jet-A is also experimentally investigated. The results indicate that while

In this paper, the stagnation-point flow and heat transfer towards a shrinking sheet in a nanofluid is considered. The nonlinear system of coupled partial differential equations was transformed and reduced to a nonlinear system of coupled ordinary differential equations, which was solved numerically using the shooting method. Numerical results were obtained for the skin friction coefficient, the local Nusselt number as well as the velocity and temperature profiles for some values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction φ, the shrinking parameter λand the Prandtl number Pr. Three different types of nanoparticles are considered, namely Cu, Al2O3 and TiO2. It was found that nanoparticles of low thermal conductivity, TiO2, have better enhancement on heat transfer compared to nanoparticles Al2O3 and Cu. For a particular nanoparticle, increasing the volume fraction φ results in an increase of the skin friction coefficient and the heat transfer rate at the surface. It is also found that solutions do not exist for larger shrinking rates and dual solutions exist when λ < -1.0.

A device for confining an object to a region proximate to a fluid flowstagnation point includes one or more inlets for carrying the fluid into the region, one or more outlets for carrying the fluid out of the region, and a controller, in fluidic communication with the inlets and outlets, for adjusting the motion of the fluid to produce a stagnation point in the region, thereby confining the object to the region. Applications include, for example, prolonged observation of the object, manipulation of the object, etc. The device optionally may employ a feedback control mechanism, a sensing apparatus (e.g., for imaging), and a storage medium for storing, and a computer for analyzing and manipulating, data acquired from observing the object. The invention further provides methods of using such a device and system in a number of fields, including biology, chemistry, physics, material science, and medical science.

A steady, laminar stagnationflow configuration is adopted to investigate numerically the interaction between condensing aerosol particles and gas-phase transport across a canonical mixing layer. The mixing rates are varied by adjusting the velocity and length scales of the stagnationflow parametrically. The effect of mixing rates on particle concentration, polydispersity, and mean droplet diameter is explored and discussed. This numerical study reveals a complex response of the aerosol to varying flow times. Depending on the flow time, the variation of the particle concentration in response to varying mixing rates falls into one of the two regimes. For fast mixing rates, the number density and volume fraction of the condensing particles increase with residence time (nucleation regime). On the contrary, for low mixing rates, number density decreases with residence time and volume fraction reaches a plateau (condensation regime). It is shown that vapor scavenging by the aerosol phase is key to explaining the transition between these two regimes. The results reported here are general and illustrate genuine features of the evolution of aerosols forming by condensation of supersaturated vapor from heat and mass transport across mixing layers.

A computational model is developed and applied to study the vaporisation behaviour of three liquid fuels. This fundamental study is motivated by a need to understand how the performance of direct-injection-spark-ignition (DISI) engines may be affected by changes in fuel composition, especially alcohols. Currently, most DISI engines are designed for homogeneous-charge combustion, where the in-cylinder fuel injection, vaporisation and mixing is accomplished during the intake and early in the compression process. Thus the temperature and pressure are low, compared to post-compression conditions. The two-phase axisymmetric model is based upon an ideal opposed stagnationflow field. Liquid droplets are carried in one air stream that is met by an opposed air flow. Because of stagnation-flow similarity, the mathematical model can be represented as a one-dimensional boundary-value problem. Results show significant differences between methanol, ethanol and heptane fuels, which have potentially important impacts on the design and modification of fuel-injection systems for direct-injection engines with alternative fuels.

The present invention is a reactor for combustion synthesis of inorganic powders. The reactor includes a reaction vessel having a length and a first end and a second end. The reaction vessel further has a solution inlet and a carrier gas inlet. The reactor further has a heater for heating both the solution and the carrier gas. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction vessel is heated and the solution is in contact with the heated reaction vessel. It is further preferred that the reaction vessel be cylindrical and that the carrier gas is introduced tangentially into the reaction vessel so that the solution flows helically along the interior wall of the reaction vessel. As the solution evaporates and combustion produces inorganic material powder, the carrier gas entrains the powder and carries it out of the reactor. 10 figs.

The present invention is a reactor for combustion synthesis of inorganic powders. The reactor includes a reaction vessel having a length and a first end and a second end. The reaction vessel further has a solution inlet and a carrier gas inlet. The reactor further has a heater for heating both the solution and the carrier gas. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction vessel is heated and the solution is in contact with the heated reaction vessel. It is further preferred that the reaction vessel be cylindrical and that the carrier gas is introduced tangentially into the reaction vessel so that the solution flows helically along the interior wall of the reaction vessel. As the solution evaporates and combustion produces inorganic material powder, the carrier gas entrains the powder and carries it out of the reactor.

A flow baffling arrangement is disclosed for the core of a nuclear reactor. A plurality of core formers are aligned with the grids of the core fuel assemblies such that the high pressure drop areas in the core are at the same elevations as the high pressure drop areas about the core periphery. The arrangement minimizes core bypass flow, maintains cooling of the structure surrounding the core, and allows the utilization of alternative beneficial components such as neutron reflectors positioned near the core

The effect of residence time on the formation and growth of a condensating aerosol is simulated in a Hiemenz-type stagnationflow setup, for which a unique and well-defined time scale characterizes the velocity field. In this configuration, a hot stream saturated with dibutyle phthalate (DBP) vapor mixes with a cold dry stream. A mixing layer forms at the stagnation plane triggering supersaturation and droplets are generated by homogeneous nucleation. Aerosol dynamics are simulated using the Quadrature Method of Moments (QMOM). Two regimes related to the flow residence time are observed, i.e., a nucleation regime and a condensation regime. The nucleation regime, at short residence times, is characterized by the consumption of DBP vapor into droplets having a negligible effect on the vapor phase. In this regime, both the number density and volume fraction of droplets increase with residence time. In the condensation regime, at long residence times, vapor condensation consumes the vapor phase considerably. For longer residence times, more vapor is consumed, resulting in lower number densities due to the lower nucleation rates, whereas the volume fraction saturates.

Full Text Available This paper considers the problem of a steady two-dimensional stagnation-point flow and heat transfer of an incompressible micropolar fluid over a nonlinearly stretching/shrinking sheet. A similarity transformation is employed to convert the partial differential equations into nonlinear ordinary ones which are then solved numerically using a shooting method. Numerical results obtained are presented graphically, showing the effects of the micropolar or material parameter and the stretching/shrinking parameter on the flow field and heat transfer characteristics. The dual solutions are found to exist in a limited range of the stretching/shrinking parameter for the shrinking case, while unique solutions are possible for all positive values of the stretching/shrinking parameter (stretching case. It is also observed that the skin friction coefficient and the magnitude of the local Nusselt number increase as the material parameter increases.

The unsteady mixed convection boundary-layer flow of a micro-polar fluid near the region of the stagnation point on a double-infinite vertical flat plate is studied. It is assumed that the unsteadiness is caused by the impulsive motion of the free stream velocity and by sudden increase or sudden decrease in the surface temperature from the uniform ambient temperature. The problem is reduced to a system of non-dimensional partial differential equations, which is solved numerically using the Keller-box method. This method may present well-behaved solutions for the transient (small time) solution and those of the steady-state flow (large time) solution. It was found that there is a smooth transition from the small-time solution (initial unsteady-state flow) to the large-time solution (final steady-state flow). Further, it is shown that for both assisting and opposing cases and a fixed value of the Prandtl number, the reduced steady-state skin friction and the steady-state heat transfer from the wall (or Nusselt number) decrease with the increase of the material parameter. On the other hand, it is shown that with the increase of the Prandtl number and a fixed value of the material parameter, the reduced steady-state skin friction decreases when the flow is assisting and it increases when the flow is opposing. (author)

The group method analysis is applied to study the steady mixed convection stagnation-point flow of a non-Newtonian nanofluid towards a vertical stretching surface. The model utilized for the nanofluid incorporates the Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects. Applying the one-parameter transformation group which reduces the number of independent variables by one and thus, the system of governing partial differential equations has been converted to a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, and these equations are then computed numerically using the implicit finite-difference scheme. Comparison with previously published studies is executed and the results are found to be in excellent agreement. Results for the velocity, temperature, and the nanoparticle volume fraction profiles as well as the local skin-friction coefficient and local Nusselt number are presented in graphical and tabular forms, and discussed for different values of the governing parameters to show interesting features of the solutions.

The present study reveals the effect of homogeneous/hetereogeneous reaction on stagnation point flow of Williamson fluid in the presence of magnetohydrodynamics and heat generation/absorption coefficient over a stretching cylinder. Further the effects of variable thermal conductivity and thermal stratification are also considered. The governing partial differential equations are converted to ordinary differential equations with the help of similarity transformation. The system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations is then solved by shooting technique. MATLAB shooting code is validated by comparison with the previously published work in limiting case. Results are further strengthened when the present results are compared with MATLAB built-in function bvp4c. Effects of prominent parameters are deliberated graphically for the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles. Skin-friction coefficient and Nusselt number for the different parameters are investigated with the help of tables.

This attempt dedicated to the solution of buoyancy effect over a stretching sheet in existence of MHD stagnation point flow with convective boundary conditions. Thermophoresis and Brownian motion aspects are included. Incompressible fluid is electrically conducted in the presence of varying magnetic field. Boundary layer analysis is used to develop the mathematical formulation. Zero mass flux condition is considered at the boundary. Non-linear ordinary differential system of equations is constructed by means of proper transformations. Interval of convergence via numerical data and plots are developed. Characteristics of involved variables on the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions are sketched and discussed. Features of correlated parameters on Cf and Nu are examined by means of tables. It is found that buoyancy ratio and magnetic parameters increase and reduce the velocity field. Further opposite feature is noticed for higher values of thermophoresis and Brownian motion parameters on concentration distribution.

Full Text Available Aim of the paper is to investigate effects of ohmic heating and viscous dissipation on steady flow of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid in the presence of uniform transverse magnetic field and variable free stream near a stagnation point on a stretching non-conducting isothermal sheet. The governing equations of continuity, momentum, and energy are transformed into ordinary differential equations and solved numerically using Runge-Kutta fourth order with shooting technique. The velocity and temperature distributions are discussed numerically and presented through graphs. Skin-friction coefficient and the Nusselt number at the sheet are derived, discussed numerically, and their numerical values for various values of physical parameters are compared with earlier results and presented through tables.

The aim of this paper is to determine to what extent (i) deposition of oral bacteria and polystyrene particles, (ii) onto quartz and dental enamel with and without a salivary conditioning film, (iii) in a parallel plate (PP) and stagnation point (SP) flow chamber and at common Peclet numbers are

A pressurized water reactor vessel having a flow skirt formed from a perforated cylinder structure supported in the lower reactor vessel head at the outlet of the downcomer annulus, that channels the coolant flow through flow holes in the wall of the cylinder structure. The flow skirt is supported at a plurality of circumferentially spaced locations on the lower reactor vessel head that are not equally spaced or vertically aligned with the core barrel attachment points, and the flow skirt employs a unique arrangement of hole patterns that assure a substantially balanced pressure and flow of the coolant over the entire underside of the lower core support plate.

The features of developing a counterflow zone (bubble-mode vortex breakdown or vortex explosion) at the center of an intensively swirled flow produced in a liquid-filled cylindrical container with a rotating endwall have been studied. The observation showed that the scenario of developing a bubble......-mode breakdown zone with generation of counterflow is the same for cylinders with low or high aspect ratio, and it remains independent of stationary-nonstationary transition boundary for the main vortex flow....

An unsteady three-dimensional stagnation-point flow of a nanofluid past a circular cylinder with sinusoidal radius variation is investigated numerically. By introducing new similarity transformations for the velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle volume fraction, the basic equations governing the flow and heat and mass transfer are reduced to highly nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The resulting nonlinear system is solved numerically by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method with the shooting technique. The thermophoresis and Brownian motion effects occur in the transport equations. The velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration profiles are analyzed with respect to the involved parameters of interest, namely, unsteadiness parameter, Brownian motion parameter, thermophoresis parameter, Prandtl number, and Lewis number. Numerical values of the friction coefficient, diffusion mass flux, and heat flux are computed. It is found that the friction coefficient and heat transfer rate increase with increasing unsteadiness parameter (the highest heat transfer rate at the surface occurs if the thermophoresis and Brownian motion effects are absent) and decrease with increasing both thermophoresis and Brownian motion parameters. The present results are found to be in good agreement with previously published results.

This article is a numerical study of stagnation point flow of carbon nanotubes over an elongating sheet in presence of induced magnetic field submerged in bioconvection nanoparticles. Two types of carbon nanotubes are considered i.e. single wall carbon nanotube and multi wall carbon nanotube mixed in based fluid taken to be water as well as kerosene-oil. The emphasis of present study is to examine effect of induced magnetic field on boundary layer flows along with influence of SWCNT and MWCNT. Physical problem is mathematically modeled and simplified by using appropriate similarity transformations. Shooting method with Runge-Kutta of order 5 is employed to compute numerical results for non-dimensional velocity, induced magnetic field and temperature. The effects of pertinent parameters are portrayed through graphs. Numerical values of skinfriction coefficient and Nusselt number are tabulated to study the behaviors at the stretching surface. It is depicted that induced magnetic field is an increasing function of solid nanoparticles volumetric fraction. Moreover, MWCNT contributes in rising induced magnetic field more as compared to SWCNT for both water and kerosene-oil based fluids.

Full Text Available Two-dimensional boundary layer flow of nanofluid fluid past a stretching sheet is examined. The paper reveals the effect of non-linear radiative heat transfer on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD stagnation point flow past a stretching sheet with convective heating. Condition of zero normal flux of nanoparticles at the wall for the stretched flow is considered. The nanoparticle fractions on the boundary are considered to be passively controlled. The solution for the velocity, temperature and nanoparticle concentration depends on parameters viz. Prandtl number Pr, velocity ratio parameter A, magnetic parameter M, Lewis number Le, Brownian motion Nb, and the thermophoresis parameter Nt. Moreover, the problem is governed by temperature ratio parameter (Nr=TfT∞ and radiation parameter Rd. Similarity transformation is used to reduce the governing non-linear boundary-value problems into coupled higher order non-linear ordinary differential equation. These equations were numerically solved using the function bvp4c from the matlab software for different values of governing parameters. Numerical results are obtained for velocity, temperature and concentration, as well as the skin friction coefficient and local Nusselt number. The results indicate that the skin friction coefficient Cf increases as the values of magnetic parameter M increase and decreases as the values of velocity ratio parameter A increase. The local Nusselt number −θ′(0 decreases as the values of thermophoresis parameter Nt and radiation parameter Nr increase and it increases as the values of both Biot number Bi and Prandtl number Pr increase. Furthermore, radiation has a positive effect on temperature and concentration profiles.

Experimental studies of the combustion of premixed hydrogen-air mixtures impinging on the surface of a heated platinum plate at normal atmospheric pressure were performed and employed to draw inferences concerning surface reaction mechanisms and rate parameters applicable under practical conditions of catalytic combustion. Plate and gas temperatures were measured by thermocouples, and concentration profiles of major stable species in the gas were measured by gas-chromatographic analyses of samples withdrawn by quartz probes. In addition, ignition and extinction phenomena were recorded and interpreted with the aid of a heat balance at the surface and a previous flow-field analysis of the stagnation-point boundary layer. From the experimental and theoretical results, conclusions were drawn concerning the surface chemical-kinetic mechanisms and values of the elementary rate parameters that are consistent with the observations. In particular, the activation energy for the surface oxidation step H + OH → H 2O is found to be appreciably less at these high surface coverages than in the low-coverage limit.

A mathematical model is presented to study the Soret and Dufour effects on the convective heat and mass transfer in stagnation-point flow of viscous incompressible fluid towards a shrinking surface. Suitable similarity transformations are used to convert the governing partial differential equations into self-similarity ordinary differential equations that are then numerically solved by shooting method. Dual solutions for temperature and concentration are obtained in the presence of Soret and Dufour effects. Graphical representations of the heat and mass transfer coefficients, the dimensionless thermal and solute profiles for various values of Prandtl number, Lewis number, Soret number and Dufour number are demonstrated. With Soret number the mass transfer coefficient which is related to mass transfer rate increases for both solutions and the heat transfer coefficient (related to heat transfer rate) for both solutions becomes larger with Dufour number. The Prandtl number causes reduction in heat and the mass transfer coefficients and similarly with the Lewis number mass transfer coefficient decreases. Also, double crossing over is found in dual dimensionless temperature profiles for increasing Soret number and in dual dimensionless concentration profiles for the increase in Dufour number. Due to the larger values of Dufour number the thermal boundary layer increases and for Prandtl number increment it decreases; whereas, the solute boundary layer thickness reduces with increasing values of Prandtl number and Lewis number. (paper)

Full Text Available Present study deals with the buoyancy-driven MHD mixed convection stagnation-point flow, heat and mass transfer of a nanofluid over a non-isothermal stretching sheet in presence of induced magneticfield, radiation, chemical reaction, suction/injection and heat source/sink. The basic governing partial differential equations are reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations by using appropriate similarity transformation. The resulting system is solved numerically by bvp5c Matlab package. Numerical results are validated by comparing with the published results. The influence of non-dimensional governing parameters on velocity, induced magneticfield, temperature and concentration profiles along with coefficient of skin friction, local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are discussed and presented with the help of graphs and tables. Comparisons are made with the existed studies. Results indicate that dual solutions exists only for certain range of suction/ injection parameter and injection parameter have tendency to enhance the momentum, thermal and concentration boundary layer thickness.

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Química e Biológica This thesis explores the biotechnological applications of two novel scale-down oscillatory flowreactors (OFRs). A micro-bioreactor (working mostly in batch) and a continuous meso-reactor systems were developed based on a 4.4 mm internal diameter tube with smooth periodic constrictions (SPC), both operating under oscillatory flow mixing (OFM). The first part is dedicated to the flow characterisation in the novel SPC geom...

The Helix reactor is highly suited for precise reaction control based on good hydrodynamics. The hydrodynamics are controlled by the Dean vortices, which create excellent heat transfer properties, approach plug flow and avoid turbulence. The flexibility of this reactor has been demonstrated using a

The impact of modified Fourier's relation in non-linear mixed convective flow of third grade liquid is examined in this article. Stagnation point flow is considered. Variable thermal conductivity and thermal stratification are examined. Non-Fourier heat flux in heat transfer process is retained. Convergent local similar solutions for the nonlinear differential systems are achieved by homotopic procedure. Skin friction is computed and analyzed. Our computations certifies that velocity is higher when nonlinear convection and local buoyancy parameters are augmented. However temperature and thermal layer thickness are reduced for larger thermal relaxation factor.

Full Text Available In the present paper a theoretical investigation is performed to analyze heat and mass transport enhancement of water-based nanofluid for three dimensional (3D MHD stagnation-point flow caused by an exponentially stretched surface. Water is considered as a base fluid. There are three (3 types of nanoparticles considered in this study namely, CuO (Copper oxide, Fe3O4 (Magnetite, and Al2O3 (Alumina are considered along with water. In this problem we invoked the boundary layer phenomena and suitable similarity transformation, as a result our three dimensional non-linear equations of describing current problem are transmuted into nonlinear and non-homogeneous differential equations involving ordinary derivatives. We solved the final equations by applying homotopy analysis technique. Influential outcomes of aggressing parameters involved in this study, effecting profiles of temperature field and velocity are explained in detail. Graphical results of involved parameters appearing in considered nanofluid are presented separately. It is worth mentioning that Skin-friction along x and y-direction is maximum for Copper oxide-water nanofluid and minimum for Alumina-water nanofluid. Result for local Nusselt number is maximum for Copper oxide-water nanofluid and is minimum for magnetite-water nanofluid. Keywords: Heat transfer, Nanofluids, Stagnation-point flow, Three-dimensional flow, Nano particles, Boundary layer

In this study, flow field measurement of the Pebble Bed Reactor(PBR) for the High Temperature Gascooled Reactor(HTGR) was performed. Large number of pebbles in the core of PBR provides complicated flow channel. Due to the complicated geometries, numerical analysis has been intensively made rather than experimental observation. However, the justification of computational simulation by the experimental study is crucial to develop solid analysis of design method. In the present study, a wind tunnel installed with pebbles stacked was constructed and equipped with the Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV). We designed the system scaled up to realize the room temperature condition according to the similarity. The PIV observation gave us stagnation points, low speed region so that the suspected high temperature region can be identified. With the further supplementary experimental works, the present system may produce valuable data to justify the Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) simulation method

A new combustor referred to as Stagnation Point Reverse Flow (SPRF) combustor has been developed at Georgia Tech to meet the increasingly stringent emission regulations. The combustor incorporates a novel design to meet the conflicting requirements of low pollution and high stability in both premixed and non-premixed modes. The objective of this thesis work is to perform Large Eddy Simulations (LES) on this lab-scale combustor and elucidate the underlying physics that has resulted in its excellent performance. To achieve this, numerical simulations have been performed in both the premixed and non-premixed combustion modes, and velocity field, species field, entrainment characteristics, flame structure, emissions, and mixing characteristics have been analyzed. Simulations have been carried out first for a non-reactive case to resolve relevant fluid mechanics without heat release by the computational grid. The computed mean and RMS quantities in the non-reacting case compared well with the experimental data. Next, the simulations were extended for the premixed reactive case by employing different sub-grid scale combustion chemistry closures: Eddy Break Up (EBU), Artificially Thickened Flame (TF) and Linear Eddy Mixing (LEM) models. Results from the EBU and TF models exhibit reasonable agreement with the experimental velocity field. However, the computed thermal and species fields have noticeable discrepancies. Only LEM with LES (LEMLES), which is an advanced scalar approach, has been able to accurately predict both the velocity and species fields. Scalar mixing plays an important role in combustion, and this is solved directly at the sub-grid scales in LEM. As a result, LEM accurately predicts the scalar fields. Due to the two way coupling between the super-grid and sub-grid quantities, the velocity predictions also compare very well with the experiments. In other approaches, the sub-grid effects have been either modeled using conventional approaches (EBU) or need

When an internal pump is started by a variable frequency power source device, if magnetic fields of an AC generator are introduced after the rated speed is reached, neutron flux high scram occurs by abrupt increase of a reactor core flow rate. Then, in the present invention, magnetic fields for the AC generator are introduced at a speed previously set at which the fluctuation range of the reactor core flow rate (neutron flux) by the start up of the internal pump is within an allowable value. Since increase of the speed of the internal pump upon its start up is suppressed to determine the change of the reactor core flow rate within an allowable range, increase of neutron fluxes is suppressed to enable stable start up. Then, since transition boiling of fuels caused by abrupt decrease of the reactor core flow rate upon occurrence of abnormality in an external electric power system is prevented, and the magnetic fields for the AC generator are introduced in such a manner to put the speed increase fluctuation range of the internal pump upon start up within an allowable value, neutron flux high scram is not caused to enable stable start-up. (N.H.)

The current analysis reports the untapped characteristics of magneto-hydrodynamic dual convection boundary layer stagnation point flow of Powell-Eyring fluid by way of cylindrical surface. Flow exploration is carried out with the combined effects of thermal and solutal stratification. The strength of temperature and concentration adjacent to the cylindrical surface is assumed to be greater than the ambient fluid. Flow conducting mathematically modelled equations are fairly transformed into system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations with the aid of suitable transformations. The computations are made against these resultant coupled equations through shooting technique by the support of fifth order Runge-Kutta algorithm. A parametric study is performed to examine the effect logs of various pertinent flow controlling parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration flow regime. The achieved outcomes are validated by developing comparison with existing published literature. In addition, numerical values of skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number are presented graphically for two different geometries namely, plate and cylinder.

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation point flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducting nanofluid over a nonlinear stretching/shrinking sheet is studied numerically. Mathematical modelling and analysis are attended in the presence of viscous dissipation. Appropriate similarity transformations are used to reduce the boundary layer equations for momentum, energy and concentration into a set of ordinary differential equations. The reduced equations are solved numerically using the built in bvp4c function in Matlab. The numerical and graphical results on the effects of various parameters on the velocity and temperature profiles as well as the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are analyzed and discussed in this paper. The study discovers the existence of dual solutions for a certain range of the suction parameter. The conducted stability analysis reveals that the first solution is stable and feasible, while the second solution is unstable.

Full Text Available We investigate the effects of slip and radiation on magnetoconvection flow of a chemically reacting fluid near a stagnation-point towards a vertical plate embedded in a porous medium analytically and numerically. The governing partial differential equations are diminished into the coupled ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations. Then they are solved analytically by homotopy analysis method and solved numerically by shooting method with RK fourth-order method. In this study, the analytical and numerical results are compared for many combinations of parameters. The rates of heat and mass transfer are calculated. The velocity profile near the plate overshoots on increasing the slip parameter. The concentration and temperature are decreasing on increasing the slip parameter.

This exploration addresses MHD stagnation point Powell Eyring nanofluid flow with double stratification. The effects of thermal radiation and chemical reaction are added in temperature and nanoparticle concentration fields respectively. Furthermore, appropriate transformations are betrothed to obtain nonlinear differential equations from the system of partial differential equations and an analytical solution of system of coupled differential equations is obtained by means of the renowned Homotopy Analysis method. Through graphical illustrations, momentum, energy and concentration distributions are conversed for different prominent parameters. Comparison in limiting case is also part of present study to validate the obtained results. It is witnessed that nanoparticle concentration is diminishing function of chemical reaction parameter. Moreover, mounting values of thermal and solutal stratification lowers the temperature and concentration fields respectively.

Full Text Available This exploration addresses MHD stagnation point Powell Eyring nanofluid flow with double stratification. The effects of thermal radiation and chemical reaction are added in temperature and nanoparticle concentration fields respectively. Furthermore, appropriate transformations are betrothed to obtain nonlinear differential equations from the system of partial differential equations and an analytical solution of system of coupled differential equations is obtained by means of the renowned Homotopy Analysis method. Through graphical illustrations, momentum, energy and concentration distributions are conversed for different prominent parameters. Comparison in limiting case is also part of present study to validate the obtained results. It is witnessed that nanoparticle concentration is diminishing function of chemical reaction parameter. Moreover, mounting values of thermal and solutal stratification lowers the temperature and concentration fields respectively.

The nature of the solar wind flow near comets is examined analytically. In particular, the typical values for the stagnation pressure and magnetic barrier strength are estimated, taking into account the magnetic field line tension and the charge exchange cooling of the mass loaded solar wind. Knowledge of the strength of the magnetic barrier is required in order to determine the location of the contact discontinuity which separates the contaminated solar wind plasma and the outflowing plasma of the cometary ionosphere. (author)

Full Text Available The current study covers the relative study of non-aligned magnetohydrodynamic stagnation point flow of a nanofluid comprising gyrotactic microorganisms across a stretching sheet in the presence of nonlinear thermal radiation and variable viscosity. The governing equations transitioned as nonlinear ordinary differential equations with suited similarity transformations. With the assistance of Runge-Kutta based shooting method, we derived solutions. Results for oblique and free stream flow cases are exhibited through plots for the parameters of concern. In tabular form, heat and mass transfer rate along with the local density of the motile microorganisms are analyzed for some parameters. It is found that local density of the motile microorganisms is highly influenced by the Biot and Peclet numbers. Rising values of the magnetic field parameter, Biot number, thermal radiation parameter and thermophoresis parameter increase the thermal boundary layer. Bioconvection Peclet number and bioconvection Lewis number have tendency to reduce the density of the motile microorganisms. It is also found that thermal and concentration boundary layers become high in free stream flow when compared with the oblique flow.

A magnetic amplifier includes a saturable core having a plurality of legs. Control windings wound around separate legs are spaced apart from each other and connected in series in an anti-symmetric relation. The control windings are configured in such a way that a biasing magnetic flux arising from a control current flowing through one of the plurality of control windings is substantially equal to the biasing magnetic flux flowing into a second of the plurality of control windings. The flow of the control current through each of the plurality of control windings changes the reactance of the saturable core reactor by driving those portions of the saturable core that convey the biasing magnetic flux in the saturable core into saturation. The phasing of the control winding limits a voltage induced in the plurality of control windings caused by a magnetic flux passing around a portion of the saturable core.

The stagnation properties option in RELAP4/MOD6 was completely reviewed, from theoretical foundation to code application. The result of this investigation was the identification of a fundamental mismatch between the essentially homogeneous, equilibrium-based, RELAP4 code and the nonhomogeneous and/or nonequilibrium critical flow models imposed on the code. By continuously monitoring fluid Mach numbers and adjusting flow areas such that sonic velocity was never exceeded, the mismatch could be accommodated. This approach was implemented, found to work correctly, and will be incorporated into the MOD7 version of the code

Highlights: • PTV study of flow fields of pebble bed reactor with different configurations are carried out. • Some criteria are proposed to quantify vertical velocity field and flow uniformity. • The effect of different pebble bed configurations is also compared by the proposed criteria. • The displacement thickness is used analogically to analyze flow field characteristics. • The effect of mass flow variation in the stagnated region of the funnel flow is measured. - Abstract: The flow field characteristics are of fundamental importance in the design work of the pebble bed high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). The different effects of bed configurations on the flow characteristics of pebble bed are studied through the PTV (Particle Tracking Velocimetry) experiment. Some criteria, e.g. flow uniformity (σ) and mass flow level (α), are proposed to estimate vertical velocity field and compare the bed configurations. The distribution of the Δθ (angle difference between the individual particle velocity and the velocity vector sum of all particles) is also used to estimate the resultant motion consistency level. Moreover, for each bed configuration, the thickness of displacement is analyzed to measure the effect of the funnel flow zone based on the boundary layer theory. Detailed information shows the quantified characteristics of bed configuration effects on flow uniformity and other characteristics; and the sequence of levels of each estimation criterion is obtained for all bed configurations. In addition, a good design of the pebble bed configuration is suggested and these estimation criteria can be also applied and adopted in testing other geometry designs of pebble bed.

Full Text Available In this paper, the steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD mixed convection stagnation point flow of an incompressible and electrically conducting micropolar fluid past a vertical flat plate is investigated. The effects of induced magnetic field, heat generation/absorption and chemical reaction have been taken into account during the present study. Numerical solutions are obtained by using the Runge–Kutta fourth order scheme with shooting technique. The skin friction and rate of heat and mass transfer at the bounding surface are also calculated. The generality of the present study is assured of by discussing the works of Ramachandran et al. (1988, Lok et al. (2005 and Ishak et al. (2008 as particular cases. It is interesting to note that the results of the previous authors are in good agreement with the results of the present study tabulated which is evident from the tabular values. Further, the novelty of the present analysis is to account for the effects of first order chemical reaction in a flow of reactive diffusing species in the presence of heat source/sink. The discussion of the present study takes care of both assisting and opposing flows. From the computational aspect, it is remarked that results of finite difference (Ishak et al. (2008 and Runge–Kutta associated with shooting technique (present method yield same numerical results with a certain degree of accuracy. It is important to note that the thermal buoyancy parameter in opposing flow acts as a controlling parameter to prevent back flow. Diffusion of lighter foreign species, suitable for initiating a destructive reaction, is a suggestive measure for reducing skin friction.

Full Text Available In this paper, we analyzed the buoyancy-driven radiative non-isothermal heat transfer in a nanofluid stagnation-point flow over a stretching/shrinking sheet embedded in a porous medium.The effects of thermal radiation and internal heat generation/absorption along with suction/injection at the boundary are also considered. Three different types of nanofluids, namely the Copper-water, the Alumina-water and the Titanium dioxide water are considered. The resulting coupled nonlinear differential equations are solved numerically by a fifth-order Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg integration scheme with a shooting technique. A good agreement is found between the present numerical results and the available results in the literature for some special cases. The effects of the physical parameters on the flow and temperature characteristics are presented through tables and graphs, and the salient features are discussed. The results obtained reveal many interesting behaviors that warrant further study on the heat transfer enhancement due to the nanofluids.

The flow characteristics in free impinging jet reactors (FIJRs) were investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The effects of the Reynolds number (Re) and the ratio of jet distance to jet diameter (w/d) on flow behavior were discussed for equal volumetric flow rates of the two jets. The impingement plane, instantaneous velocity, mean velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) distribution of FIJRs are measured from captured images using the PIV technique. As Re increases, the average diameter of the impingement plane linearly increases. The instability of the liquid is closely related to the jet velocity or the Re. However, the stagnation point is insensitive to the variation of the Re. The droplets break up from the turbulent liquid in the ‘wall-free’ environment of FIJRs, so that the liquid back-flow found in confined impinging jet reactors (CIJRs) is not observed. Increasing the Re from 1800-4100 or decreasing the w/d from 20-6 plays a similar role in increasing the TKE values and intensifying turbulence, which promotes the momentum transfer and mixing efficiency in FIJRs.

The centerline total enthalpy of arc jet flow is determined using laser induced fluorescence of oxygen and nitrogen atoms. Each component of the energy, kinetic, thermal, and chemical can be determined from LIF measurements. Additionally, enthalpy distributions are inferred from heat flux and pressure probe distribution measurements using an engineering formula. Average enthalpies are determined by integration over the radius of the jet flow, assuming constant mass flux and a mass flux distribution estimated from computational fluid dynamics calculations at similar arc jet conditions. The trends show favorable agreement, but there is an uncertainty that relates to the multiple individual measurements and assumptions inherent in LIF measurements.

In the present paper a theoretical investigation is performed to analyze heat and mass transport enhancement of water-based nanofluid for three dimensional (3D) MHD stagnation-point flow caused by an exponentially stretched surface. Water is considered as a base fluid. There are three (3) types of nanoparticles considered in this study namely, CuO (Copper oxide), Fe3O4 (Magnetite), and Al2O3 (Alumina) are considered along with water. In this problem we invoked the boundary layer phenomena and suitable similarity transformation, as a result our three dimensional non-linear equations of describing current problem are transmuted into nonlinear and non-homogeneous differential equations involving ordinary derivatives. We solved the final equations by applying homotopy analysis technique. Influential outcomes of aggressing parameters involved in this study, effecting profiles of temperature field and velocity are explained in detail. Graphical results of involved parameters appearing in considered nanofluid are presented separately. It is worth mentioning that Skin-friction along x and y-direction is maximum for Copper oxide-water nanofluid and minimum for Alumina-water nanofluid. Result for local Nusselt number is maximum for Copper oxide-water nanofluid and is minimum for magnetite-water nanofluid.

A study on boundary layer flow and mass transfer near stagnation point past a stretching or shrinking cylinder in copper water nanofluid under consideration of chemical reaction and slip effect was investigated. The partial differential equations were converted to ordinary differential equations by applying appropriate similarity variables then next substituted into bvp4c code in Matlab software to get the mathematical results. The graphical results were presented and discussed further. The numerical results indicate that with consideration of slip at the boundary causes to decrease the skin friction coefficient but increased the mass transfer rate. Meanwhile, the curvature parameter results in increasing the skin friction coefficient and mass transfer rate. The presence of slip and curvature parameter and also expanded the region of dual solutions. The constructive chemical reaction parameter leads to increase rate of mass transfer at the surface. Since there admit solutions in dual, we carry out the stability analysis to validate either first or second solutions is stable and physically realizable.

Full Text Available This paper deals with the unsteady boundary layer flow and heat transfer of nanofluid over a time-dependent rotating sphere where the free stream velocity varies continuously with time. The boundary layer equations were normalized via similarity variables and solved numerically. Best accuracy of the results has been obtained for regular fluid with previous studies. The nanofluid is treated as a two-component mixture (base fluid+nanoparticles that incorporates the effects of Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis simultaneously as the two most important mechanisms of slip velocity in laminar flows. Our outcomes indicated that as A and λ increase, surface shear stresses, heat transfer and concentration rates, climb up. Also, Increasing the thermophoresis Nt is found to decrease in the both values of heat transfer and concentration rates. This decrease supresses for higher thermophoresis number. In addition, it was observed that unlike the heat transfer rate, a rise in Brownian motion Nb, leads to an increase in concentration rate.

Multiphase flow processing in flowreactors holds great promises for diverse applications in fine chemicals and materials synthesis primarily due to its precise control over the flow, mixing and reaction inside or between each phase. Even though, flowreactors have shown superior performance, so far

In the feasibility studies of Commercialized Fast Breeder Reactor Cycle System, a compact reactor vessel is considered from economical improvement point of a sodium cooled loop type fast reactor. The flow field was visualized by water experiment for a reactor vessel with 'a column type UIS (Upper Internal Structure)', which has a slit for fuel handling mechanism and is useful for a compact fast reactor. In this research, the 1/20 scale test equipment using water was made to understand coolant flow through a slit of a column type UIS' and fundamental behavior of reactor upper plenum flow. In the flow visualization tests, tracer particles were added in the water, and illuminated by the slit-shaped pulse laser. The flow visualization image was taken with a CCD camera. We obtained fluid velocity vectors from the visualization image using the Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV). The results are as follows. 1. Most of coolant flow through a slit of 'column type UIS' arrived the dip plate directly. In the opposite side of a slit, most of coolant flowed toward reactor vessel wall before it arrived the dip plate. 2. The PIV was useful to measure the flow field in the reactor vessel. The obtained velocity field was consistent with the flow visualization result. 3. The jet through the UIS slit was dependent on the UIS geometry. There is a possibility to control the jet by the UIS geometry. (author)

This patent describes a sodium cooled reactor of the type having a reactor hot pool, a slightly lower pressure reactor cold pool and a reactor vessel liner defining a reactor vessel liner flow gap separating the hot pool and the cold pool along the reactor vessel sidewalls and wherein the normal sodium circuit in the reactor includes main sodium reactor coolant pumps having a suction on the lower pressure sodium cold pool and an outlet to a reactor core; the reactor core for heating the sodium and discharging the sodium to the reactor hot pool; a heat exchanger for receiving sodium from the hot pool, and removing heat from the sodium and discharging the sodium to the lower pressure cold pool; the improvement across the reactor vessel liner comprising: a jet pump having a venturi installed across the reactor vessel liner, the jet pump having a lower inlet from the reactor vessel cold pool across the reactor vessel liner and an upper outlet to the reactor vessel hot pool

SMART is a small integral reactor, which is under development at KAERI to get the standard design approval by the end of 2011. SMART works like a pressurized light-water reactor in principle though it is more compact than large commercial reactors. SMART houses major components such as steam generators, a pressurizer, and reactor coolant pumps inside the reactor pressure vessel. Due to its compact design, SMART adopts a canned-motor type reactor coolant pump which has much smaller rotational inertia than the ones used in commercial reactors. As a consequence, the reactor coolant pump has very short coastdown time and reactor coolant flow rate decreases more severely compared to commercial reactors. The transients initiated by reduction of reactor coolant flow rate have been analyzed to ensure that SMART can be safely shutdown on such transients. The design basis events in this category are complete loss of flow, single pump locked rotor with loss of offsite power, and single pump shaft break with loss of offsite power

The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is a thermal neutron reactor with graphite moderation and operates on the thorium-uranium fuel cycle. The feature of the MSR is that fuel salt flows inside the reactor during the nuclear fission reaction. In the previous study, the authors developed numerical model with which to simulate the effects of fuel salt flow on the reactor characteristics. In this study, we apply the model to the steady-state analysis of a small MSR system and estimate the effects of fue...

To improve the recuperative heat exchange, a Reverse Flow Catalytic Membrane Reactor (RFCMR) with porous membranes is proposed in this thesis, in which very efficient heat exchange between the feed and product streams is achieved by using the reverse flow concept (i.e. periodic alternation of the flow direction of the gas through a fixed catalyst bed).

In this study, the flow characterization of the cooling air in reactor cavity nearby RCPSA has been analyzed by using a 3 dimensional model and the ANSYS CFX software in order to predict the Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient (CHTC) of the RCPSA. The Reactor Cavity is the annular space by the concrete structure, the Reactor Cavity Pool Seal Assembly (RCPSA), which consists of the welded steel and is designed to be installed between the RV and the refueling pool floor, and the Reactor Vessel (RV). For such reason, the RCPSA should be designed to provide the cooling air passage for ventilation to circulate high temperature air passing by the RV during the reactor operation. It means that the RCPSA is influenced by the convection of cooling air and the thermal expansion of the RV. Therefore, the flow characterization at the reactor cavity is one of the factors of the RCPSA design during the reactor operation. The flow distribution of the cooling air in reactor cavity nearby RCPSA has been analyzed using ANSYS CFX software to obtain the CHTC at surface of the RCPSA. 1) The temperature from the RV and the insulation is one of the critical factors for the thermal gradient of the cooling air and the CHTC in the reactor cavity. 2) The rapid change of the CHTC in inner region nearby inner and outer flexure is related to the geometry shape of the RCPSA and velocity of cooling air.

The dual-stage reactor is a novel continuous flowreactor with two reactors connected in series. It is designed for hydrothermal flow synthesis of nanocomposites, in which a single particle consists of multiple materials. The secondary material may protect the core nanoparticle from oxidation...... and agglomeration, enhance catalytic or optical properties or combine properties into a multifunctional material. Such hybrids form the frontier of materials science, but the methods that provide strong synthesis control typically only yields minute quantitites which prohibits any real application of the materials....... The dual-stage reactor combines the ability to produce advanced materials with an upscaled capacity in excess of 10 g/hour (dry mass). TiO2 was synthesized in the primary reactor and reproduced previous results. The dual-stage capability was succesfully demonstrated with a series of nanocomposites incl. Ti...

Highlights: • Unaveraged transport equation is obtained for the stagnation pressure. • Reynolds-averaged transport equation is obtained for the stagnation pressure. • Transport equations apply to compressible flow of calorically perfect, ideal gas. • Stagnation pressure is shown to be capable of naturally or artificially increasing. • Spurious overshoots likely in shear layers displaying convex streamline curvature. - Abstract: When stagnation pressure rises in a natural or numerically simulated flow it is frequently a cause for concern, as one usually expects viscosity and turbulence to cause stagnation pressure to decrease. In fact, if stagnation pressure increases, one may suspect measurement or numerical errors. However, this need not be the case, as the laws of nature do not require that stagnation pressure continually decreases. In order to help clarify matters, the objective of this work is to understand the conditions under which stagnation pressure will rise in the unsteady/steady flows of compressible, viscous, calorically perfect, ideal gases. Furthermore, at a more practical level, the goal is to understand the conditions under which stagnation pressure will increase in flows simulated with the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations and eddy-viscosity turbulence models. In order to provide an improved understanding of increases in stagnation pressure for both these scenarios, transport equations are derived that govern its behavior in the unaveraged and Reynolds averaged settings. These equations are utilized to precisely determine the relationship between changes in stagnation pressure and zeroth, first, and second derivatives of fundamental flow quantities. Furthermore, these equations are utilized to demonstrate the relationship between changes in stagnation pressure and fundamental non-dimensional quantities that govern the conductivity, viscosity, and compressibility of the flow. In addition, based on an analysis of the Reynolds

Chemical Reactor Modeling closes the gap between Chemical Reaction Engineering and Fluid Mechanics. The second edition consists of two volumes: Volume 1: Fundamentals. Volume 2: Chemical Engineering Applications In volume 1 most of the fundamental theory is presented. A few numerical model simulation application examples are given to elucidate the link between theory and applications. In volume 2 the chemical reactor equipment to be modeled are described. Several engineering models are introduced and discussed. A survey of the frequently used numerical methods, algorithms and schemes is provided. A few practical engineering applications of the modeling tools are presented and discussed. The working principles of several experimental techniques employed in order to get data for model validation are outlined. The monograph is based on lectures regularly taught in the fourth and fifth years graduate courses in transport phenomena and chemical reactor modeling, and in a post graduate course in modern reactor m...

A device which controls coolant flow through a nuclear reactor assembly comprises a baffle means at the exit end of said assembly having a plurality of orifices, and a bimetallic member in operative relation to the baffle means such that at increased temperatures said bimetallic member deforms to unblock some of said orifices and allow increased coolant flow therethrough.

To improve the recuperative heat exchange, a Reverse Flow Catalytic Membrane Reactor (RFCMR) with porous membranes is proposed in this thesis, in which very efficient heat exchange between the feed and product streams is achieved by using the reverse flow concept (i.e. periodic alternation of the

Anaerobic down-flow hanging sponge (AnDHS) reactor and UASB reactor were operated at 30℃ for over 400 days in order to investigate the process performance and the sludge characteristics of treating methanolic wastewater (2 gCOD/L). The settings OLR of AnDHS reactor and of UASB reactor were 5.0 -10.0 kgCOD/m3/d and 5.0 kgCOD/m3/d. The average of the COD removal demonstrated by both reactors were over 90% throughout the experiment. From the results of methane producing activities and the PCR-DGGE method, most methanol was directly converted to methane in both reactors. The conversion was carried out by different methanogens: one closely related to Methanomethylovorans hollandica in the AnDHS retainted sludge and the other closely related to Methanosarcinaceae and Metanosarciales in the UASB retainted sludge.

Oxidation flowreactors (OFRs) have been developed to achieve high degrees of oxidant exposures over relatively short space times (defined as the ratio of reactor volume to the volumetric flow rate). While, due to their increased use, attention has been paid to their ability to replicate realistic tropospheric reactions by modeling the chemistry inside the reactor, there is a desire to customize flow patterns. This work demonstrates the importance of decoupling tracer signal of the reactor from that of the tubing when experimentally obtaining these flow patterns. We modeled the residence time distributions (RTDs) inside the Washington University Potential Aerosol Mass (WU-PAM) reactor, an OFR, for a simple set of configurations by applying the tank-in-series (TIS) model, a one-parameter model, to a deconvolution algorithm. The value of the parameter, N, is close to unity for every case except one having the highest space time. Combined, the results suggest that volumetric flow rate affects mixing patterns more than use of our internals. We selected results from the simplest case, at 78 s space time with one inlet and one outlet, absent of baffles and spargers, and compared the experimental F curve to that of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The F curves, which represent the cumulative time spent in the reactor by flowing material, match reasonably well. We value that the use of a small aspect ratio reactor such as the WU-PAM reduces wall interactions; however sudden apertures introduce disturbances in the flow, and suggest applying the methodology of tracer testing described in this work to investigate RTDs in OFRs to observe the effect of modified inlets, outlets and use of internals prior to application (e.g., field deployment vs. laboratory study).

Full Text Available Oxidation flowreactors (OFRs have been developed to achieve high degrees of oxidant exposures over relatively short space times (defined as the ratio of reactor volume to the volumetric flow rate. While, due to their increased use, attention has been paid to their ability to replicate realistic tropospheric reactions by modeling the chemistry inside the reactor, there is a desire to customize flow patterns. This work demonstrates the importance of decoupling tracer signal of the reactor from that of the tubing when experimentally obtaining these flow patterns. We modeled the residence time distributions (RTDs inside the Washington University Potential Aerosol Mass (WU-PAM reactor, an OFR, for a simple set of configurations by applying the tank-in-series (TIS model, a one-parameter model, to a deconvolution algorithm. The value of the parameter, N, is close to unity for every case except one having the highest space time. Combined, the results suggest that volumetric flow rate affects mixing patterns more than use of our internals. We selected results from the simplest case, at 78 s space time with one inlet and one outlet, absent of baffles and spargers, and compared the experimental F curve to that of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD simulation. The F curves, which represent the cumulative time spent in the reactor by flowing material, match reasonably well. We value that the use of a small aspect ratio reactor such as the WU-PAM reduces wall interactions; however sudden apertures introduce disturbances in the flow, and suggest applying the methodology of tracer testing described in this work to investigate RTDs in OFRs to observe the effect of modified inlets, outlets and use of internals prior to application (e.g., field deployment vs. laboratory study.

Fiscal policy and public debt may be required to maintain full employment and avoid secular stagnation. This conclusion emerges from a range of different models, including OLG specifications and stock-flow consistent (post-) Keynesian models. One of the determinants of the required long-run debt ...... consumption and the structure of taxation influence the required debt ratio and, paradoxically, austerity policies are counterproductive on their own terms: cuts in government consumption lead to an increase in the required level of debt....

A study was made to determine the flow rates and pressure drops for all primary system flow paths through the FTR. The main data and results are in tables, diagrams and curves. The results are intended to provide a common basis for evaluation of parametric changes in the system.

Advances in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), turbulence simulation, and parallel computing have made feasible the development of three-dimensional (3-D) single-phase and two-phase flow CFD codes that can simulate fluid flow and heat transfer in realistic reactor geometries with significantly reduced reliance, especially in single phase, on empirical correlations. The objective of this work was to assess the predictive power and computational efficiency of a CFD code in the analysis of a challenging single-phase light water reactor problem, as well as to identify areas where further improvements are needed

A measurement based on the temperature noise analysis method was carried out in the Training Reactor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The main goals were the estimation of the flow velocity immediately above the reactor core and investigation of the thermal-hydraulical conditions of the reactor, mainly in the core. Subsequently 2D and 3D computations were carried out with the aid of the code CFX- 4.3. The main objective of the 2D calculation was to clarify the thermal-hydraulical conditions of the whole reactor tank with a reasonable computing demand. It was also necessary to accomplish 3D numerical investigations of the reactor core and the space above since three dimensional effects of the flow could only be studied in this way. In addition, obtaining certain boundary conditions of the 3D computations was another significant aim of the 2D investigations. It is important that the results of the noise analysis and the operational measuring system of the reactor gave us a basis for verifying our computations.(author)

A series of power ramp and loss-of-coolant accidents were simulated with an electrically heated mockup of a Savannah River Site production reactor assembly. The one-to-one scale mockup had full multichannel annular geometry in its heated section in addition to prototypical inlet and outlet endfitting hardware. Power levels causing void generation and flow instability in the water coolant flowing through the mockup were found under different transient and quasi-steady state test conditions. A reasonably sharp boundary between initial operating powers leading to or not leading to flow instability were found: that being 0.2 MW or less on power levels of 4 to 6.3 MW. Void generation occurred before, but close to, the point of flow instability. The data were taken in support of the Savannah River reactor limits program and will be used in continuing code benchmarking efforts. 6 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs

The primary-coolant flow paths of a reactor system are usually subject to close scrutiny in a design review to identify potential flow-induced vibration sources. However, secondary-flow paths through narrow gaps in component supports, which parallel the primary-flow path, occasionally are the excitation source for significant vibrations even though the secondary-flow rates are orders of magnitude smaller than the primary-flow rate. These so-called leakage flow problems are reviewed here to identify design features and excitation sources that should be avoided. Also, design rules of thumb are formulated that can be employed to guide a design, but quantitative prediction of component response is found to require scale-model testing

This reactor core supporting structure consists of a single plate provided with canals situated under each fuel element for the crossing of the coolant. Each canal has a constricted intake part and a zone of larger diameter downstream this inlet port, in order for the coolant flow to be laminar at the canal outlets, and to be uniformly distributed inside the fuel elements [fr

Technical note: Development of a Linear Flow Channel Reactor for sulphur removal in acid mine wastewater treatment operations. ... A mass balance accounting for the process showed that up to 66% of total sulphur species entering the system were recovered as So. Oxidation of sulphide to thiosulphate and sulphate was ...

The local recovery factor was determined experimentally along the surface of a thin-walled 20 deg included angle cone for Mach numbers near 6.0 at stagnation temperatures between 1200 deg R and 2600 deg R. In addition, a similar cone configuration was tested at Mach numbers near 4.5 at stagnation temperatures of approximately 612 deg R. The local Reynolds number based on flow properties at the edge of the boundary layer ranged between 0.1 x 10(exp 4) and 3.5 x 10(exp 4) for tests at temperatures above 1200 deg R and between 6 x 10(exp 4) and 25 x 10(exp 4) for tests at temperatures near 612 deg R. The results indicated, generally, that the recovery factor can be predicted satisfactorily using the square root of the Prandtl number. No conclusion could be made as to the necessity of evaluating the Prandtl number at a reference temperature given by an empirical equation, as opposed to evaluating the Prandtl number at the wall temperature or static temperature of the gas at the cone surface. For the tests at temperatures above 1200 deg R (indicated herein as the tests conducted in the slip-flow region), two definite trends in the recovery data were observed - one of increasing recovery factor with decreasing stagnation pressure, which was associated with slip-flow effects and one of decreasing recovery factor with increasing temperature. The true cause of the latter trend could not be ascertained, but it was shown that this trend was not appreciably altered by the sources of error of the magnitude considered herein. The real-gas equations of state were used to determine accurately the local stream properties at the outer edge of the boundary layer of the cone. Included in the report, therefore, is a general solution for the conical flow of a real gas using the Beattie-Bridgeman equation of state. The largest effect of temperature was seen to be in the terms which were dependent upon the internal energy of the gas. The pressure and hence the pressure drag terms were

The CHF correlation suitable for narrow rectangular channels are implemented in RELAP5/MOD3.3 code for the analyses, and the behavior of fuel temperatures and MCHFR(minimum critical heat flux ratio) are compared between the original and modified codes. The complete flow blockage of fuel channel for research reactor is analyzed using original and modified RELAP5/MOD3.3 and the results are compared each other. The Sudo-Kaminaga CHF correlation is implemented into RELAP5/MOD3.3 for analyzing the behavior of fuel adjacent to the blocked channel. A flow blockage of fuel channels can be postulated by a foreign object blocking cooling channels of fuels. Since a research reactor with plate type fuel has isolated fuel channels, a complete flow blockage of one fuel channel can cause a failure of adjacent fuel plates by the loss of cooling capability. Although research reactor systems are designed to prevent foreign materials from entering into the core, partial flow blockage accidents and following fuel failures are reported in some old research reactors. In this report, an analysis of complete flow blockage accident is presented for a 15MW pool-type research reactor with plate type fuels. The fuel surface experience different heat transfer regime in the results from original and modified RELAP5/MOD3.3. By the discrepancy in heat transfer mode of two cases, a fuel melting is expected by the modified RELAP5/MOD3.3, whereas the fuel integrity is ensured by the original code

We have designed a flow tube reactor for supercritical water oxidation of wastes that confines the oxidation reaction to the vicinity of the axis of the tube. This prevents high temperatures and reactants as well as reaction products from coming in intimate contact with reactor walls. This implies a lessening of corrosion of the walls of the reactor. We display numerical simulations for a vertical reactor with conservative design parameters that illustrate our concept. We performed our calculations for the destruction of sodium nitrate by ammonium hydroxide In the presence of supercritical water, where the production of sodium hydroxide causes corrosion. We have compared these results with that for a horizontal set-up where the sodium hydroxide created during the reaction ends up on the floor of the tube, implying a higher probability of corrosion

Similitude relationships currently employed in the design of flow-induced vibration scale-model tests of nuclear reactor components are reviewed. Emphasis is given to understanding the origins of the similitude parameters as a basis for discussion of the inevitable distortions which occur in design verification testing of entire reactor systems and in feature testing of individual component designs for the existence of detrimental flow-induced vibration mechanisms. Distortions of similitude parameters made in current test practice are enumerated and selected example tests are described. Also, limitations in the use of specific distortions in model designs are evaluated based on the current understanding of flow-induced vibration mechanisms and structural response

Full Text Available This paper introduces an extended code package PARCS/RELAP5 to analyze steady state of SCWR US reference design. An 8 × 8 quarter core model in PARCS and a reactor core model in RELAP5 are used to study the core flow distribution under various steady state conditions. The possibility of moderator flow reversal is found in some hot moderator channels. Different moderator flow orifice strategies, both uniform across the core and nonuniform based on the power distribution, are explored with the goal of preventing the reversal.

Neural networks have many scientific applications in areas such as pattern classification and time series prediction. The universal approximation property of these networks, however, can also be exploited to provide researchers with tool for modeling observed nonlinear phenomena. It has been shown that multilayer feed forward networks can capture important global nonlinear properties, such as chaotic dynamics, merely by training the network on a finite set of observed data. The network itself then provides a model of the process that generated the data. Characterizations such as the existence and general shape of a strange attractor and the sign of the largest Lyapunov exponent can then be extracted from the neural network model. In this paper, the author applies this idea to data generated from a nonlinear process that is representative of convective flows that can arise in nuclear reactor applications. Such flows play a role in forced convection heat removal from pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors, and decay heat removal from liquid-metal-cooled reactors, either by natural convection or by thermosyphons

Object: To provide an emergency cut-off valve in a recirculation system in a reactor to control the recirculation at the time of turbine trip or load cut-off, thereby relieving excessive increase in heat output of fuel. Structure: A recirculation pump is driven through a recirculation pump motor by an AC generator, which is driven by a driving motor through a fluid coupling, so that reactor water passes the emergency cut-off valve and recirculation flow stop valve and then passes a jet pump into the core. At the time of turbine trip or load cut-off, the emergency cut-off valve is closed by a hydraulic circuit, whereby core flow is merely decreased by 20 to 30% in a short period of time to restrain excessive increase in heat output. (Yoshino, Y.)

An assessment of the reliability of finite element method computer models, as applied to the computation of flow induced vibration response of components used in nuclear reactors, is presented. The prototype under consideration was the Fast Flux Test Facility reactor being constructed for US-ERDA. Data were available from an extensive test program which used a scale model simulating the hydraulic and structural characteristics of the prototype components, subjected to scaled prototypic flow conditions as well as to laboratory shaker excitations. Corresponding analytical solutions of the component vibration problems were obtained using the NASTRAN computer code. Modal analyses and response analyses were performed. The effect of the surrounding fluid was accounted for. Several possible forcing function definitions were considered. Results indicate that modal computations agree well with experimental data. Response amplitude comparisons are good only under conditions favorable to a clear definition of the structural and hydraulic properties affecting the component motion. 20 refs

This literature compares the performance of second order competitive consecutive reaction in Fed-Batch Reactor with that in continuous Plug FlowReactor. In a kinetic sense, this simulation study aims to develop a case for continuous Plug FlowReactor in pharmaceutical, fine chemical, and related other chemical industries. MATLAB is used to find solutions for the differential equations. The simulation results show that, for certain cases of nonelementary scenario, product selectivity is highe...

In this study, general relationships applicable to a wide variety of microbial-mediated treatment processes are developed using a number of continuous-flow stirred tank reactors-in-series. Simultaneous equations resulting from mass balance on substrate and biomass are solved numerically taking the longitudinal biomass gradient into account. A relationship between substrate and biomass concentrations is developed as a function of hydraulic residence time. Monod kinetics and mathematical models of reactors-in-series are used to represent the actual conditions resulting from varying degrees of axial dispersion and wastewater quality. Dimensionless quantities are used to reduce the number of parameters to be taken into account. Computer techniques are applied to express the results generally. By means of the numerical approach, the variation of the ratio between the hydraulic residence time of a given reactor and that of an equivalent plug-flow tank with the same inlet and outlet conditions is investigated. Results are expressed in the form of graphs to characterize the plug-flow activated sludge systems and to provide a basis of design. Experimental data reported in the literature are also evaluated to demonstrate the cases where the existing classical solution to the problem differs from the actual results obtained from the computer program and the design graphs given.

Generally, PWR's are designed with several primary loops, each one provided with a pump to circulate the coolant through the core. If one or more of these pumps fail, there would be a decrease in reactorflow rate which cause coolant phase change in the core and components overheating. The present work establishes a simulation model for pump failure in PWR's and the SARDAN-FLOW computes code was developed, considering any combination of such failures. Based on the data of Angra I, several accident and operational transient conditions were simulated. (author) [pt

Generally, PWR's are designed with several primary loops, each one provided with a pump to circulate the coolant through the core. If one or more of these pumps fail, there would be a decrease in reactorflow rate which could cause coolant phase change in the core and components overheating. The present work establishes a simulation model for pump failure in PWR's and the SARDAN-FLOW computes code was developed, considering any combination of such failures. Based on the data of Angra I, several accident and operational transient conditions were simulated. (author) [pt

The Phase I Level I Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) of the conceptual design of the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) Reactor identified core flow blockage as the most likely internal event leading to fuel damage. The flow blockage event frequency used in the original ANS PRA was based primarily on the flow blockage work done for the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) PRA. This report examines potential flow blockage scenarios and calculates an estimate of the likelihood of debris-induced fuel damage. The bulk of the report is based specifically on the conceptual design of ANS with a 93%-enriched, two-element core; insights to the impact of the proposed three-element core are examined in Sect. 5. In addition to providing a probability (uncertainty) distribution for the likelihood of core flow blockage, this ongoing effort will serve to indicate potential areas of concern to be focused on in the preliminary design for elimination or mitigation. It will also serve as a loose-parts management tool

The construction of Korea Multi-purpose Research Reactor (KMRR), a 30 MW{sub th} open-tank-in-pool type, is completed. Various thermal-hydraulic experiments have been conducted to verify the design characteristics of the KMRR. This paper describes the commissioning experiments to determine the flow distribution of KMRR core and the flow characteristics inside the chimney which stands on top of the core. The core flow is distributed to within {+-}6% of the average values, which is sufficiently flat in the sense that the design velocity in the fueled region is satisfied. The role of core bypass flow to confine the activated core coolant in the chimney structure is confirmed.

Heat, mass and fluid flow phenomena in metallurgical reactor systems such as smelting cyclones or electrolytic cells are complex and intricately linked through the governing equations of fluid flow, chemical reaction kinetics and chemical thermodynamics. The challenges for the representation of flow phenomena in such reactors as well as the transfers of these concepts to non-specialist modelers (e.g. plant operators and management personnel) can be met through scientific flow visualization techniques. In the first example the fluid flow of the gas phase and of concentrate particles in a smelting cyclone for copper production are calculated three dimensionally. The effect of design parameters (length and diameter of reactor, concentrate feeding tangentially or from the top, ..) and operating conditions are investigated. Single particle traces show, how to increase particle retention time before the particles reach the liquid film flowing down the cyclone wall. Cyclone separators are widely used in the metallurgical and chemical industry for collection of large quantities of dust. Most of the empirical models, which today are applied for the design, are lacking in being valid in the high temperature region. Therefore the numerical prediction of the collection efficiency of dust particles is done. The particle behavior close to the wall is considered by applying a particle restitution model, which calculates individual particle restitution coefficients as functions of impact velocity and impact angle. The effect of design parameters and operating are studied. Moreover, the fluid flow inside a copper refining electrolysis cell is modeled. The simulation is based on density variations in the boundary layer at the electrode surface. Density and thickness of the boundary layer are compared to measurements in a parametric study. The actual inhibitor concentration in the cell is calculated, too. Moreover, a two-phase flow approach is developed to simulate the behavior of

Full Text Available The debate on secular stagnation suffers from vagueness and several shortcomings, which affect its economic policy implications. In this work we provide an alternative view on the advanced economies’ tendencies to stagnation, based on Josef Steindl’s contributions. Steindl’s pioneering 1952 book in particular is not prone to several problems that affect the current debate on secular stagnation. It does not rely on the dubious notion of an equilibrium real interest rate as the equilibrating force of saving and investment at full employment levels. Rather, it is based on the notion that modern capitalist economies face aggregate demand constraints, and that saving adjusts to investment through income growth and changes in capacity utilisation in the long run. Steindl’s treatment allows for potential growth to become endogenous to actual demand, and it seriously considers the role of institutions and power relationships for long-run growth. In illustrating Steindl’s contributions on this topic, the article presents an original model synthetizing the main points in particular concerning long run growth and stagnation. JEL codes: B22, E11, E12, E65, O11

Highlights: • Effect of an insert on improving flow uniformity and eliminating stagnant zone is studied. • Three values concerned with the stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence are used. • Outlet diameter is a critical parameter that determines balancing mechanism of the insert. • Height/location is varied to let the insert work in unbalanced region and avoid adverse effect. - Abstract: A flow-corrective insert is adopted in the pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) to improve flow performance of the pebble flow for the first time. 3D discrete element method (DEM) modeling is employed to study this slow and dense granular flow. It is verified that locating a properly designed insert in the bed can help transform unsatisfactory flow field to the preferred flow pattern for pebble bed reactors. Three characteristic values on the stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence of pebble flow are defined to evaluate uniformity of the overall flow field quantitatively. The results demonstrate that the pebble bed equipped with an insert performs better than normal beds from all these three aspects. Moreover, based on numerical experiments, several universal tips for insert design on height, location and outlet diameter are suggested.

Highlights: • Effect of an insert on improving flow uniformity and eliminating stagnant zone is studied. • Three values concerned with the stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence are used. • Outlet diameter is a critical parameter that determines balancing mechanism of the insert. • Height/location is varied to let the insert work in unbalanced region and avoid adverse effect. - Abstract: A flow-corrective insert is adopted in the pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) to improve flow performance of the pebble flow for the first time. 3D discrete element method (DEM) modeling is employed to study this slow and dense granular flow. It is verified that locating a properly designed insert in the bed can help transform unsatisfactory flow field to the preferred flow pattern for pebble bed reactors. Three characteristic values on the stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence of pebble flow are defined to evaluate uniformity of the overall flow field quantitatively. The results demonstrate that the pebble bed equipped with an insert performs better than normal beds from all these three aspects. Moreover, based on numerical experiments, several universal tips for insert design on height, location and outlet diameter are suggested.

Ignition and combustion characteristics of n-butanol/air, 2-butanol.air and isobutanol/air mixtures at stoichiometric (ϕ = 1) and lean (ϕ = 0.5) conditions were investigated in a micro flowreactor with a controlled temperature profile from 323 K to 1313 K, under atmospheric pressure. Sole distinctive weak flame was observed for each mixture, with inlet fuel/air mixture velocity set low at 2 cm/s. One-dimensional computation with comprehensive chemistry and transport was conducted. At low mixture velocities, one-stage oxidation was confirmed from heat release rate profiles, which was broadly in agreement with the experimental results. The weak flame positions were congruent with literature describing reactivity of the butanol isomers. These weak flame responses were also found to mirror the trend in Anti-Knock Indexes of the butanol isomers. Flux and sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the fuel oxidation pathways at low and high temperatures. Further computational investigations on oxidation of butanol isomers at higher pressure of 5 atm indicated two-stage oxidation through the heat release rate profiles. Low temperature chemistry is accentuated in the region near the first weak cool flame for oxidation under higher pressure, and its impact on key species – such as hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide and carbon monoxide – were considered. Both experimental and computational findings demonstrate the advantage of employing the micro flowreactor in investigating oxidation processes in the temperature region of interest along the reactor channel. By varying physical conditions such as pressure, the micro flowreactor system is proven to be highly beneficial in elucidating oxidation behavior of butanol isomers in conditions in engines such as those that mirror HCCI operations.

Full Text Available The stability of reactor operation for catalytic oxidation of lean CH4 has been investigated through modeling and simulation, particularly the influence of switching time and heat extraction on reverse flowreactor (RFR performance. A mathematical model of the RFR was developed, based on one-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model for mass and heat balances, incorporating heat loss through the reactor wall. The configuration of the RFR consisted of inert-catalyst-inert, with or without heat extraction that makes it possible to store the energy released by the exothermic reaction of CH4 oxidation. The objective of this study was to investigate the dynamic behavior of the RFR for lean methane oxidation and to find the optimum condition by exploring a stability analysis of the simple reactor. The optimum criteria were defined in terms of CH4 conversion, CH4 slip, and heat accumulation in the RFR. At a switching time of 100 s, the CH4 conversion reached the maximum value, while the CH4 slip attained its minimum value. The RFR could operate autothermally with positive heat accumulation, i.e. 0.02 J/s. The stability of the RFR in terms of heat accumulation was achieved at a switching time of 100 s.

Traditional international law and its instruments are stagnating both in terms of quantity and quality. New, alternative forms of cross-border cooperation, in particular processes of informal international lawmaking, have emerged and gained prominence since the 2000s in response to an increasingly

A one-dimensional, two-phase dispersed plug flow model has been developed to describe the steady-state performance of a relatively new type of reactor, the gas-solid trickle flowreactor (GSTFR). In this reactor, an upward-flowing gas phase is contacted with as downward-flowing dilute solids phase

Particle and gas temperature measurements were carried out in experiments on VTTs entrained flowreactor with 5% and 10% oxygen using Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy (FTIR). Particle temperature measurements were performed on polish coal,bark, wood, straw particles, and bark...... and wood particles treated with additive. A two-color technique with subtraction of the background light was used to estimate particle temperatures during experiments. A transmission-emission technique was used tomeasure the gas temperature in the reactor tube. Gas temperature measurements were in good...... agreement with thermocouple readings. Gas lines and bands from CO, CO2 and H2O can be observed in the spectra. CO was only observed at the first measuring port (100ms) with the strongest CO-signal seen during experiments with straw particles. Variations in gas concentration (CO2 and H2O) and the signal from...

Full Text Available Safe and effective load of nuclear reactor fuel cells demands qualitative and quantitative analysis of relations between coolant temperature in fuel cell outlet temperature measured by thermocouple and middle temperature of coolant in thermocouple plane position. In laboratory at Insitute of thermal power engineering of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava was installed an experimental physical fuel cell model of VVER 440 nuclear power plant with V 213 nuclear reactors. Objective of measurements on physical model was temperature and velocity profiles analysis in the fuel cell outlet. In this paper the measured temperature and velocity profiles are compared with the results of CFD simulation of fuel cell physical model coolant flow.

This paper presents the design, construction and testing of a cylindrical pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (PDBD) reactor aimed to microbiological elimination of Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 bacteria. In the reactor, water flowed continuously and to countercurrent an oxygen gas was injected. The water pumping was carried out with a peristaltic pump type, stainless steel and aluminum constructed, and water was recirculated through norprene tubing. The considered parameters in order to promote energetic efficiency were: the residence time of the water contaminated with bacteria, flow rate of the liquid, shape and material used to build electrodes and dielectric, pressure, and gas injection flow rate. The pulsed power supply parameters are featured by 25-30 kV high voltage, 500 Hz frequency and 30 μs width. The outcome elimination of E. coli bacteria at 10 3 , 10 4 and 10 6 CFU/mL concentrations reached an efficiency over 0.5 log-order in absence of oxygen; while >2 log-orders when oxygen gas was injected during the process. (paper)

Flow induced vibrations are well known phenomena in industry. Engineers have to estimate their destructive effects on structures. In the nuclear industry, flow induced vibrations are assessed early in the design process, and the results are incorporated in the design procedures. In many cases, model testing is used to supplement the design process to ensure that detrimental behaviour due to flow induced vibrations will not occur in the component in question. While these procedures attempt to minimize the probability of adverse performance of the various components, there is a problem in the extrapolation of analytical design techniques and/or model testing to actual plant operation. Therefore, sodium tests or vibrational measurements of components in the reactor system are used to provide additional assurance. This report is a general survey of experimental and calculational methods in this area of structural mechanics. The report is addressed to specialists and institutions in industrialized and developing countries who are responsible for the design and operation of liquid metal fast breeder reactors. 92 refs, 90 figs, 8 tabs

In the present study a method to simulate the reaction between gaseous KCl and kaolin at suspension fired condition was developed using a pilot-scale entrained flowreactor (EFR). Kaolin was injected into the EFR for primary test of this method. By adding kaolin, KCl can effectively be captured......, forming water-insoluble K-aluminosilicate. The amount of K captured by 1 g kaolin rose when increasing the molar ratio of K/Si in the reactant. Changing of reaction temperature from 1100 °C to 1300 °C did not influence the extent of reaction, which is different from the results observed in previous fixed...

Radical reactions are in important in combustion chemistry; however, little state-specific information is available for these reactions. A new apparatus has been constructed to measure the dynamics of radical reactions. The unique feature of this apparatus is a transverse flowreactor in which an atom or radical of known concentration will be produced by pulsed laser photolysis of an appropriate precursor molecule. The time dependence of individual quantum states or products and/or reactants will be followed by rapid infrared laser absorption spectroscopy. The reaction H + O{sub 2} {yields} OH + O will be studied.

A procedure is introduced for characterizing one dimensional, two phase flow in terms of three properties; propagation, structure, and dynamics. It is shown that all of these properties can be measured by analyzing the response of the reactor neutron field to a two phase flow perturbation. Therefore, a nuclear reactor can be regarded as a two phase flow instrument. (author)

Multiphase reactors are widely used in the process industry, especially in the petrochemical industry. They very often are characterized by very good thermal control and high heat transfer coefficients against heating and cooling surfaces. This thesis first reviews recent advances in bubble column modelling, focusing on the fundamental flow equations, drag forces, transversal forces and added mass forces. The mathematical equations for the bubble column reactor are developed, using an Eulerian description for the continuous and dispersed phase in tensor notation. Conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy and chemical species are given, and the k-{epsilon} and Rice-Geary models for turbulence are described. The different algebraic solvers used in the model are described, as are relaxation procedures. Simulation results are presented and compared with experimental values. Attention is focused on the modelling of void fractions and gas velocities in the column. The energy conservation equation has been included in the bubble column model in order to model temperature distributions in a heated reactor. The conservation equation of chemical species has been included to simulate absorption of CO{sub 2}. Simulated axial and radial mass fraction profiles for CO{sub 2} in the gas phase are compared with measured values. Simulations of the dynamic behaviour of the column are also presented. 189 refs., 124 figs., 1 tab.

A flow visualization technique using the pH sensitive dye phenolphthalein was used to visualize and quantify turbulent reacting mixing in a microscale nanoprecipitation reactor. Phenolphthalein is colorless at pH lower than 8, but turns pink at higher pH, making it useful for visualizing acid-base reactions. Using this dye, turbulent reactive mixing in a confined impinging jets reactor (CIJR) was investigated. The reactor has two inlet streams, one at a pH of 3, and the other at a pH of 11. Phenolphthalein is also dissolved in both streams. A flash lamp with a extremely short pulse duration is used to freeze the turbulent motion of the fluids, and images are captured using a video camera. Quantitative mixing data are obtained by using a thresholding technique where local image intensities are transformed to binary signals which represent the local pH: 0 stands for pH lower than 8 and 1 for pH higher than 8. For each Reynolds number under consideration, thousands of realizations are acquired. Using this thresholding technique, probability density functions are obtained, allowing comparison to numerical simulations.

The use of phototrophic biofilms in wastewater treatment has been recognized as a potential option for development of new reactor configurations. For better understanding of these systems, a numerical model was developed including relevant microbial processes. As a novelty, this model was implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics, a modern computational environment for complex dynamic models. A two-dimensional biofilm model was used to study the spatial distribution of microbial species within the biofilm and along the length of the reactor. The biofilm model was coupled with a one-dimensional plug-flow bulk liquid model. The impact of different operational conditions on the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia conversions was assessed. The model was tuned by varying two parameters: the half-saturation coefficient for light use by phototrophs and the oxygen mass transfer coefficient. The mass transfer coefficient was found to be determining for the substrate conversion rate. Simulations indicate that heterotrophs would overgrow nitrifiers and phototrophs within the biofilm until a low biodegradable COD value in the wastewater is reached (organic loading rate reactor performance.

An analytical model representing the hydraulic behavior of the primary system of fast breeder nuclear reactors is discussed. A computer code capable of detailing the core flow distribution and characterizing the flow and pressure drop in each reactor component is presented. Application of this method to the reactor core thermal-hydraulic design has allowed optimization of the flow management with consequent upgrading in performance, reduction of unnecessary conservatism and very substantial cost savings. Typical quantitative examples are presented

The concept of a continuous process in producing biodiesel from jatropha oil by using an Oscillatory Flow Biodiesel Reactor (OFBR) is discussed in this paper. It has been recognized that the batch stirred reactor is a primary mode used in the synthesis of biodiesel. However, pulsatile flow has been extensively researcehed and the fundamental principles have been successfully developed upon which its hydrodynamics are based. Oscillatory flow biodiesel reactor offers precise control of mixing b...

Two-phase flow models dominate the requirements of economic resources for the development and use of computer codes which serve to analyze thermohydraulic transients in nuclear power plants. An attempt is made to reduce the effort of analyzing reactor transients by combining purpose-oriented modelling with advanced computing techniques. Six principles are presented on mathematical modeling and the selection of numerical methods, along with suggestions on programming and machine selection, all aimed at reducing the cost of analysis. Computer simulation is contrasted with traditional computer calculation. The advantages of run-time interactive access operation in a simulation environment are demonstrated. It is explained that the drift-flux model is better suited than the two-fluid model for the analysis of two-phase flow in nuclear reactors, because of the latter's closure problems. The advantage of analytical over numerical integration is demonstrated. Modeling and programming techniques are presented which minimize the number of needed arithmetical and logical operations and thereby increase the simulation speed, while decreasing the cost. (orig.)

Highlights: • Reverse-flowreactors easily overcome feed concentration disturbances. • Central feeding improves ammonia adsorption in reverse-flowreactors. • Dynamic heterogeneous model validated with bench-scale experiments. • Optimum reverse-flowreactor design improves efficiency and reduces reactor size. - Abstract: The abatement of nitrogen oxides produced in combustion processes and in the chemical industry requires efficient and reliable technologies capable of fulfilling strict environmental regulations. Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) with ammonia in fixed-bed (monolithic) reactors has stood out among other techniques in the last decades. In this work, the use of reverse-flowreactors, operated under the forced un-steady state generated by the periodic reversal of the flow direction, is studied for improving the SCR performance. This reactor can take advantage of ammonia adsorption in the catalyst to enhance concentration profiles in the reactor, increasing reaction rate, efficiency and reducing the emission of un-reacted ammonia. The process has been studied experimentally in a bench-scale device using a commercial monolithic catalyst. The optimum operating conditions, best ammonia feed configuration (side or central) and capacity of the reactor to deal with feed concentration disturbances is analysed. The experiments have also been used for validating a mathematical model of the reactor based on mass conservation equations, and the model has been used to design a full-size reverse-flowreactor able of operating at industrial conditions

A method of accounting for fluid-to-fluid shear in between calculational cells over a wide range of flow conditions envisioned in reactor safety studies has been developed such that it may be easily implemented into a computer code such as COBRA-TF for more detailed subchannel analysis. At a given nodal height in the calculational model, equivalent hydraulic diameters are determined for each specific calculational cell using either laminar or turbulent velocity profiles. The velocity profile may be determined from a separate CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis, experimental data, or existing semi-empirical relationships. The equivalent hydraulic diameter is then applied to the wall drag force calculation so as to determine the appropriate equivalent fluid-to-fluid shear caused by the wall for each cell based on the input velocity profile. This means of assigning the shear to a specific cell is independent of the actual wetted perimeter and flow area for the calculational cell. The use of this equivalent hydraulic diameter for each cell within a calculational subchannel results in a representative velocity profile which can further increase the accuracy and detail of heat transfer and fluid flow modeling within the subchannel when utilizing a thermal hydraulics systems analysis computer code such as COBRA-TF. Utilizing COBRA-TF with the flow modeling enhancement results in increased accuracy for a coarse-mesh model without the significantly greater computational and time requirements of a full-scale 3D (three-dimensional) transient CFD calculation. (authors)

The development of novel experimental approaches to investigate fundamental surface kinetics is presented. Specifically, fundamental soot formation and surface catalysis processes are examined in isolation from other competing processes. In terms of soot formation, two experimental techniques are presented: the Burner Stabilized Stagnation (BSS) flame configuration is extended to isolate the effect of the parent fuel structure on soot formation and the fundamental rate of surface oxidation for nascent soot is measured in a novel aerosol flowreactor. In terms of nanoparticles, the physical and chemical properties of freely suspended nanoparticles are investigated in a novel aerosol flowreactor for methane oxidation catalyzed by palladium. The role of parent fuel structure within soot formation is examined by following the time resolved formation nascent soot from the onset of nucleation to later growth stages for premixed BSS flames. Specifically, the evolution of the detailed particle size distribution function (PSDF) is compared for butanol, butane and C6 hydrocarbons in two separate studies where the C/O ratio and temperature are fixed. Under this constraint, the overall sooting process were comparable as evidenced by similar time resolved bimodal PSDF. However, the nucleation time and the persistence of nucleation with time is strongly dependent upon the structure of the parent fuel. For the C6 hydrocarbon fuels, the fastest onset of soot nucleation is observed in cyclohexane and benzene flames and this may be due to significant aromatic formation that is predicted in the pre-flame region. In addition, the evolution of the PSDF shows that nucleation ends sooner in cylclohexane and benzene flames and this may be due to relatively quick depletion of soot precursors such as acetylene and benzene. Interestingly,within the butanol fuels studied the effect of the branched chain in i-butanol and i-butane was more significant than the presence of fuel bound oxygen. A

As the thermofluid safety study for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), thermal-hydraulic characteristics of Tokamak fusion reactors under transient events were investigated experimentally and analyzed numerically. As severe transient events an ingress-of-coolant event (ICE) and a loss-of-vacuum event (LOVA) were considered. An integrated ICE test facility was constructed to demonstrate that the ITER safety design approach and parameters are adequate. Water-vapor two-phase flow behavior and performance of the ITER pressure suppression system during the ICE were clarified by the integrated ICE experiments. The TRAC was modified to specify the two-phase flow behavior under the ICE. The ICE experimental results were verified using the modified TRAC code. On the other hand, activated dust mobilization and air ingress characteristics in the ITER vacuum vessel during the LOVA were analyzed using a newly developed analysis code. Some physical models on the motion of dust were considered. The rate of dust released from the vacuum vessel through breaches to the outside was characterized quantitatively. The predicted average pressures in the vacuum vessel during the LOVA were in good agreement with the experimental results. Moreover, direct-contact condensation characteristics between water and vapor inside the ITER suppression tank were observed visually and simulated by the direct two-phase flow analysis. Furthermore, chemical reaction characteristics between vapor and ITER plasma-facing component materials were predicted numerically in order to obtain qualitative estimation on generation of inflammable gases such as hydrogen and methane. The experimental and numerical results of the present studies were reflected in the ITER thermofluid safety design. (author)

In nuclear reactor safety and optimization there are key issues that rely on in-depth understanding of basic two-phase flow phenomena with heat and mass transfer. Within the context of multiphase flows, two bubble-dynamic phenomena – boiling (heterogeneous) and flashing or cavitation (homogeneous boiling), with bubble collapse, are technologically very important to nuclear reactor systems. The main difference between boiling and flashing is that bubble growth (and collapse) in boiling is inhibited by limitations on the heat transfer at the interface, whereas bubble growth (and collapse) in flashing is limited primarily by inertial effects in the surrounding liquid. The flashing process tends to be far more explosive (and implosive), and is more violent and damaging (at least in the near term) than the bubble dynamics of boiling. However, other problematic phenomena, such as crud deposition, appear to be intimately connecting with the boiling process. In reality, these two processes share many details.

The synthesis of methanol from CO and H2 was executed in a gas-solid-solid trickle flowreactor. The reactor consisted of three tubular reactor sections with cooling sections in between. The catalyst was Cu on alumina, the adsorbent was a silica-alumina powder and the experimental range 498–523 K,

This project is investigating countercurrent flow and 'flooding' phenomena in light water reactor systems to improve reactor safety of current and future reactors. To better understand the occurrence of flooding in the surge line geometry of a PWR, two experimental programs were performed. In the first, a test facility with an acrylic test section provided visual data on flooding for air-water systems in large diameter tubes. This test section also allowed for development of techniques to form an annular liquid film along the inner surface of the 'surge line' and other techniques which would be difficult to verify in an opaque test section. Based on experiences in the air-water testing and the improved understanding of flooding phenomena, two series of tests were conducted in a large-diameter, stainless steel test section. Air-water test results and steam-water test results were directly compared to note the effect of condensation. Results indicate that, as for smaller diameter tubes, the flooding phenomena is predominantly driven by the hydrodynamics. Tests with the test sections inclined were attempted but the annular film was easily disrupted. A theoretical model for steam venting from inclined tubes is proposed herein and validated against air-water data. Empirical correlations were proposed for air-water and steam-water data. Methods for developing analytical models of the air-water and steam-water systems are discussed, as is the applicability of the current data to the surge line conditions. This report documents the project results from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008

This project is investigating countercurrent flow and “flooding” phenomena in light water reactor systems to improve reactor safety of current and future reactors. To better understand the occurrence of flooding in the surge line geometry of a PWR, two experimental programs were performed. In the first, a test facility with an acrylic test section provided visual data on flooding for air-water systems in large diameter tubes. This test section also allowed for development of techniques to form an annular liquid film along the inner surface of the “surge line” and other techniques which would be difficult to verify in an opaque test section. Based on experiences in the air-water testing and the improved understanding of flooding phenomena, two series of tests were conducted in a large-diameter, stainless steel test section. Air-water test results and steam-water test results were directly compared to note the effect of condensation. Results indicate that, as for smaller diameter tubes, the flooding phenomena is predominantly driven by the hydrodynamics. Tests with the test sections inclined were attempted but the annular film was easily disrupted. A theoretical model for steam venting from inclined tubes is proposed herein and validated against air-water data. Empirical correlations were proposed for air-water and steam-water data. Methods for developing analytical models of the air-water and steam-water systems are discussed, as is the applicability of the current data to the surge line conditions. This report documents the project results from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008.

High temperature gas cooled reactor, largely divided into two types of PBR (Pebble Bed Reactor) and PMR (Prismatic Modular Reactor), has becomes great interest of researchers in connection with the hydrogen production. KAERI has started a project to develop the gas cooled reactor for the hydrogen production and has been doing in-depth study for selecting the reactor type between PBR and PMR. As a part of the study, PBMR (Pebble Bed Modular Reactor) was selected as a reference PBR reactor for the CFD analysis and the flow field of its inlet plenum was simulated with computational fluid dynamics program CFX5. Due to asymmetrical arrangement of pipes to the inlet plenum, non-uniform flow distribution has been expected to occur, giving rise to non-uniform power distribution at the core. Flow fields of different arrangement of inlet pipes were also investigated, as one of measures to reduce the non-uniformity

Analytical investigations of fluid dynamics problems of relevance to the gaseous core nuclear reactor program are presented. The vortex type flow which appears in the nuclear light bulb concept is analyzed along with the fluid flow in the fuel inlet region for the coaxial flow gaseous core nuclear reactor concept. The development of numerical methods for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for appropriate geometries is extended to the case of rotating flows and almost completes the gas core program requirements in this area. The investigations demonstrate that the conceptual design of the coaxial flowreactor needs further development.

Stagnation of a cold plasma streaming to the center or axis of symmetry via an expanding accretion shock wave is ubiquitous in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density plasma physics, the examples ranging from plasma flows in x-ray-generating Z pinches [Maron et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 035001 (2013)] to the experiments in support of the recently suggested concept of impact ignition in ICF [Azechi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 235002 (2009); Murakami et al., Nucl. Fusion 54, 054007 (2014)]. Some experimental evidence indicates that stagnation via an expanding shock wave is stable, but its stability has never been studied theoretically. We present such analysis for the stagnation that does not involve a rarefaction wave behind the expanding shock front and is described by the classic ideal-gas Noh solution in spherical and cylindrical geometry. In either case, the stagnatedflow has been demonstrated to be stable, initial perturbations exhibiting a power-law, oscillatory or monotonic, decay with time for all the eigenmodes. This conclusion has been supported by our simulations done both on a Cartesian grid and on a curvilinear grid in spherical coordinates. Dispersion equation determining the eigenvalues of the problem and explicit formulas for the eigenfunction profiles corresponding to these eigenvalues are presented, making it possible to use the theory for hydrocode verification in two and three dimensions.

Stagnation of a cold plasma streaming to the center or axis of symmetry via an expanding accretion shock wave is ubiquitous in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density plasma physics, the examples ranging from plasma flows in x-ray-generating Z pinches [Maron et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 035001 (2013)] to the experiments in support of the recently suggested concept of impact ignition in ICF [Azechi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 235002 (2009); Murakami et al., Nucl. Fusion 54, 054007 (2014)]. Some experimental evidence indicates that stagnation via an expanding shock wave is stable, but its stability has never been studied theoretically. We present such analysis for the stagnation that does not involve a rarefaction wave behind the expanding shock front and is described by the classic ideal-gas Noh solution in spherical and cylindrical geometry. In either case, the stagnatedflow has been demonstrated to be stable, initial perturbations exhibiting a power-law, oscillatory or monotonic, decay with time for all the eigenmodes. This conclusion has been supported by our simulations done both on a Cartesian grid and on a curvilinear grid in spherical coordinates. Dispersion equation determining the eigenvalues of the problem and explicit formulas for the eigenfunction profiles corresponding to these eigenvalues are presented, making it possible to use the theory for hydrocode verification in two and three dimensions.

It is the common features of the integral reactors that the main components of the primary system are installed within the reactor vessel, and so there are no any flow pipes connecting the reactor coolant pumps or steam generators. Due to no any flow pipes, it is impossible to measure the differential pressure at the primary system of the integral reactors, and it also makes impossible measure the primary coolant flow rate. The objective of the study is to draw up the flow measurement methods for the primary system of integral reactors. As a result of the review, we have made a selection of the flow measurement method by pump speed, bt HBM, and by pump motor power as the flow measurement methods for the primary system of integral reactors. Peculiarly, we did not found out a precedent which the direct pump motor power-flow rate curve is used as the flow measurement method in the existing commercial nuclear power reactors. Therefore, to use this method for integral reactors, it is needed to bear the follow-up measures in mind. The follow-up measures is included in this report

facility. It was clearly found in Hong et al. In this study the feasibility of the similarity analysis of Hong et al. was examined. The similarity analysis was applied to SFR which has been designed in KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) in order to design the reactorflow distribution test. The length scale was assumed to be 1/5, and the velocity scale 1/2, which bounds the square root of the length scale (1/√5). The CFX calculations for both prototype and model were carried out and the flow field was compared

Research reactors with forced downward core cooling experience flow inversion if the primary cooling pump (PCP) is failed. If PCP failure occurs, the downward flow decreases into zero flow and eventually turn into upward flow by natural circulation. During flow inversion phenomenon, reactor cores may undergo the most unfavorable thermal hydraulic condition, which results in the highest coolant and fuel temperatures and lowest thermal margins. The transient thermal hydraulic analyses of loss of flow accidents (LOFA) in IAEA 10MW benchmark MTR research reactor have been widely investigated by many institutes. In this study, a transient thermal hydraulic model of flow inversion is developed and applied to IAEA 10MW benchmark MTR research reactor. The results are compared against other analyses

In the HTR-PM reactor core, the basic structure materials are large amount of graphite reflectors and carbon bricks. Small gaps among those graphite and carbon bricks are widespread in the reactor core so that the cold helium flow may be bypassed and not completely heated. The bypass flows in relative lower temperature would change the flow and temperature distributions in the reactor core, therefore, the accurate prediction of bypass flows need to be carried out carefully to evaluate the influence to the reactor safety. Based on the characteristics of the bypass flow problem, hybrid method of the flow network and the CFD tools was employed to represent the connections and calculate flow distributions of all the main flow and bypass flow paths. In this paper, the hybrid method was described and applied to specific bypass flow problem in the HTR-PM. Various bypass flow paths in the HTR-PM were reviewed, figured out, and modeled by the flow network and the CFD methods, including the axial vertical gaps in the side reflectors, control rod channels, absorber sphere channels and radial gap flow through keys around the hot helium plenum. The bypass flow distributions and its flow rate ratio to the total flow rate in the primary loop were also calculated, discussed and evaluated. (author)

The gas-swirl stabilization of plasma jets is one of effective methods of its retention in the near-axial area of channels in generators of low-temperature plasma. Except the effect of gas-dynamic compression, the peripheral swirl allows to solve another urgent problem - to protect the reactor walls from the heat influence of the plasma jet. Swirl flows are also used for the flow structure formation and control of the heat and gas-dynamic characteristics of different power devices and apparatuses, using high-temperature working media: in swirl furnaces and burners, in aviation engines, etc. Investigations show that during swirl stabilization the gas-dynamic structure of the flow influences significantly the spatial stability of the plasma column and its characteristics

Complete text of publication follows: Heat transfer and phase change phenomena in two-phase flows are often encountered in nuclear reactor systems and are therefore of paramount importance for their optimal design and safe operation.The complex phenomena observed especially during transient operation of nuclear reactor systems necessitate extensive theoretical and experimental investigations. This special issue brings seven research articles of high quality. Though small in number, they cover a wide range of topics, presenting high complexity and diversity of heat transfer phenomena in two-phase flow. In the last decades a vast amount of research has been devoted to theoretical work and computational simulations, yet the experimental work remains indispensable for understanding of two-phase flow phenomena and for model validation purposes. This is reflected also in this issue, where only one article is purely experimental, while three of them deal with theoretical modelling and the remaining three with numerical simulations. The experimental investigation of the critical heat flux (CHF) phenomena by means of photographic study is presented in the paper of J. Park et al. They have used a high-speed camera system to observe the transient boiling characteristics on a thin horizontal cylinder submerged in a pool of water or highly wetting liquid. Experiments show that the initial boiling process is strongly affected by the properties and wettability of the liquid. The authors have stressed the importance of the local scale observation leading to better understanding of the transient CHF phenomena. In the article of G. Espinosa-Paredes et al. a theoretical work concerning the derivation of transport equations for two-phase flow is presented. The author proposes a novel approach based on derivation of nonlocal volume averaged equations which contain new terms related to nonlocal transport effects. These non-local terms act as coupling elements between the phenomena

This work presents the modelling and simulation of saponification of ethyl acetate in the presence of sodium hydroxide in a plug flowreactor using Aspen Plus simulation software. Plug flowreactors are widely used in the industry due to the non-mixing property. The use of plug flowreactors becomes significant when there is a need for continuous large scale reaction or fast reaction. Plug flowreactors have a high volumetric unit conversion as the occurrence for side rea...

The experiments were performed on the test loop HRTL-5, which simulates the geometry and system design of the 5 MW nuclear heating reactor. In a wide range of inlet sub-cooling, various flow instabilities were observed at p = 0.1 MPa and p = 1.5 MPa. Because of the different geometry design and operating conditions between the heating reactors and the boiling water reactors, the flow behavior presents great difference. Analysis shows: (1) under heating reactor conditions, sub-cooled boiling, condensation and void flashing are the fundamental thermodynamic processes; (2) sub-cooled boiling, condensation, void flashing and the compressibility of the steam space play an important role in the flow instabilities of the natural circulation system; (3) sub-cooled boiling instability, flashing instability, and flow excursion are the special instabilities at nuclear heating reactor conditions. (orig.)

A reverse-flow fixed bed reactor concept for CLC (chemical-looping combustion) is explored. The limitations of conventional fixed bed reactors, as applied to CLC, are overcome by reversing the gas flow direction periodically to enhance the mixing characteristics of the bed, thus improving oxygen carrier utilization and energy efficiency with respect to power generation. The reverse-flowreactor is simulated by a dusty-gas model and compared with an equivalent fixed bed reactor without flow reversal. Dynamic optimization is used to calculate conditions at which each reactor operates at maximum energy efficiency. Several cases studies illustrate the benefits of reverse-flow operation for the CLC with CuO and NiO oxygen carriers and methane and syngas fuels. The results show that periodic reversal of the flow during reduction improves the contact between the fuel and unconverted oxygen carrier, enabling the system to suppress unwanted catalytic reactions and axial temperature and conversion gradients. The operational scheme presented reduces the fluctuations of temperature during oxidation and increases the high-temperature heat produced by the process. CLC in a reverse-flowreactor has the potential to achieve higher energy efficiency than conventional fixed bed CLC reactors, when integrated with a downstream gas turbine of a combined cycle power plant. - Highlights: • Reverse-flow fixed bed CLC reactors for combined cycle power systems. • Dynamic optimization tunes operation of batch and transient CLC systems. • The reverse-flow CLC system provides stable turbine-ready gas stream. • Reverse-flow CLC fixed bed reactor has superior CO 2 capture and thermal efficiency.

The research aimed to analyse the flow rate of the wastewater inside reactor tanks which were placed a number of bamboo cutting. The resistance of wastewater flow inside reactor tanks might not be occurred and produce biogas fuel optimally. Wastewater from eleven tofu factories was treated by multi-stages anaerobic process to reduce its organic pollutant and produce biogas. Biogas plant has six reactor tanks of which its capacity for waste water and gas dome was 18 m3 and 4.5 m3, respectively. Wastewater was pumped from collecting ponds to reactors by either serial or parallel way. Maximum pump capacity, head, and electrical motor power was 5m3/h, 50m, and 0.75HP, consecutively. Maximum pressure of biogas inside the reactor tanks was 55 mbar higher than atmosphere pressure. A number of 1,400 pieces of cutting bamboo at 50-60 mm diameter and 100 mm length were used as bacteria growth media inside each reactor tank, covering around 14,287 m2 bamboo area, and cross section area of inner reactor was 4,9 m2. In each reactor, a 6 inches PVC pipe was installed vertically as channel. When channels inside reactor were opened, flow rate of wastewater was 6x10-1 L.sec-1. Contrary, when channels were closed on the upper part, wastewater flow inside the first reactor affected and increased gas dome. Initially, wastewater flowed into each reactor by a gravity mode with head difference between the second and third reactor was 15x10-2m. However, head loss at the second reactor was equal to the third reactor by 8,422 x 10-4m. As result, wastewater flow at the second and third reactors were stagnant. To overcome the problem pump in each reactor should be installed in serial mode. In order to reach the output from the first reactor and the others would be equal, and biogas space was not filled by wastewater, therefore biogas production will be optimum.

A new reaction screening technology for organic synthesis was recently demonstrated by combining elements from both continuous micro-flow and conventional batch reactors, coined stop-flow micro-tubing (SFMT) reactors. In SFMT, chemical reactions that require high pressure can be screened in parallel through a safer and convenient way. Cross-contamination, which is a common problem in reaction screening for continuous flowreactors, is avoided in SFMT. Moreover, the commercially available light-permeable micro-tubing can be incorporated into SFMT, serving as an excellent choice for light-mediated reactions due to a more effective uniform light exposure, compared to batch reactors. Overall, the SFMT reactor system is similar to continuous flowreactors and more superior than batch reactors for reactions that incorporate gas reagents and/or require light-illumination, which enables a simple but highly efficient reaction screening system. Furthermore, any successfully developed reaction in the SFMT reactor system can be conveniently translated to continuous-flow synthesis for large scale production.

Mine effluents contain varying concentrations of ferrous ion along with other metal ions. Fe(II) that quickly oxidizes to form precipitates in the presence of oxygen under net alkaline or neutral conditions. Thus, passive treatment methods are designed for the mine water to reside in an open containment area so as to allow simultaneous oxidation and precipitation of Fe(II), such as in a lagoon or an oxidation pond. A vertical flowreactor (VFR) was also suggested to remediate ferruginous mine drainage passing down through an accreting bed of ochre. However, VFR has a limited operation time until the system begins to overflow. It was also demonstrated that two-compartment VFR has a longer operation time than single compartment VFR of same size. In this study, a mathematical model was developed as a part of efforts to explore the operation of VFR, showing dynamic changes in head differences, ochre depth and Fe(II)/Fe(III) concentration in the effluent flow. The analysis shows that Fe(II) oxidation and ochre formation should be balanced with permeability of ochre bed to maximize VFR operation time and minimize residual Fe(II) in the effluent. The model demonstrates that two compartment VFR can have a longer operation time than a single-compartment VFR and that an optimum compartment ratio exists that maximize VFR operation time. Accelerated Fe(II) oxidation significantly affects the optimum ratio of compartment area and reduced residual Fe(II) in the effluent. VFR operation time can be significantly prolonged by increasing the rate of ochre formation not by accelerated Fe(II) oxidation. Taken together, ochre forms largely in the first compartment while overflowed mine water with reduced iron contents is efficiently filtered in the second compartment. These results provide us a better understanding of VFR operation and optimum design criteria for maximum operation time in a two-compartment VFR. Rapid ochre accretion in the first compartment maintains constant hydraulic

The wave model for longitudinal dispersion, published elsewhere as an alternative to the commonly used dispersed plug-flow model, is applied to the classic case of the laminar-flow tubular reactor. The results are compared in a wide range of situations to predictions by the dispersed plug-flow model

A regional groundwater flow model encompassing approximately 100 mi 2 surrounding the C, K. L. and P reactor areas has been developed. The Reactorflow model is designed to meet the planning objectives outlined in the General Groundwater Strategy for Reactor Area Projects by providing a common framework for analyzing groundwater flow, contaminant migration and remedial alternatives within the Reactor Projects team of the Environmental Restoration Department

A regional groundwater flow model encompassing approximately 100 mi{sup 2} surrounding the C, K. L. and P reactor areas has been developed. The Reactorflow model is designed to meet the planning objectives outlined in the General Groundwater Strategy for Reactor Area Projects by providing a common framework for analyzing groundwater flow, contaminant migration and remedial alternatives within the Reactor Projects team of the Environmental Restoration Department.

the Reynolds number, the jet velocity ratio, the axial position of the block, and the blockage ratio. The results obtained show that a proper combination of the process parameters can lead to an improved performance of the CVD reactor. Keywords. Fluid flow; heat transfer; application to CVD reactor; numerical solution. 1.

A new approach to model upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB)-reactors, referred to as a one-dimensional dispersed plug flow model, was developed. This model focusses on the granular sludge dynamics along the reactor height, based on the balance between dispersion, sedimentation and convection using

A water slurry, consisting of KCl and Al-Si based additives (kaolin and coal fly ash) was fed into an entrained flowreactor (EFR) to study the K-capturing reaction of the additives at suspension-fired conditions. Solid products collected from the reactor were analysed with respect to total...

The new reactor concept for highly endothermic reactions at elevated temperatures with possible rapid catalyst deactivation based on the indirect coupling of endothermic and exothermic reactions in reverse flow, developed for irreversible reactions in Part I, has been extended to reversible

Flow tube reactors are widely employed to study gas-phase atmospheric chemistry and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. The development of a new laminar-flow tube reactor, the Caltech Photooxidation Flow Tube (CPOT), intended for the study of gas-phase atmospheric chemistry and SOA formation, is reported here. The present work addresses the reactor design based on fluid dynamical characterization and the fundamental behavior of vapor molecules and particles in the reactor. The design of the inlet to the reactor, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, comprises a static mixer and a conical diffuser to facilitate development of a characteristic laminar flow profile. To assess the extent to which the actual performance adheres to the theoretical CFD model, residence time distribution (RTD) experiments are reported with vapor molecules (O3) and submicrometer ammonium sulfate particles. As confirmed by the CFD prediction, the presence of a slight deviation from strictly isothermal conditions leads to secondary flows in the reactor that produce deviations from the ideal parabolic laminar flow. The characterization experiments, in conjunction with theory, provide a basis for interpretation of atmospheric chemistry and SOA studies to follow. A 1-D photochemical model within an axially dispersed plug flowreactor (AD-PFR) framework is formulated to evaluate the oxidation level in the reactor. The simulation indicates that the OH concentration is uniform along the reactor, and an OH exposure (OHexp) ranging from ˜ 109 to ˜ 1012 molecules cm-3 s can be achieved from photolysis of H2O2. A method to calculate OHexp with a consideration for the axial dispersion in the present photochemical system is developed.

Herein, we report a new flow process with immobilized enzymes to synthesize complex chiral carbohydrate analogues from achiral inexpensive building blocks in a three-step cascade reaction. The first reactor contained immobilized acid phosphatase, which phosphorylated dihydroxyacetone to

The Flow-Induced Vibrations for Light Water Reactors Program was a five-year effort to develop basic knowledge and understanding needed to improve the flow-induced vibration design of light water reactors. Major tasks included analytical and test investigations of the flow-induced vibration of cylinders in isolation and arrays in smooth and turbulent single-vibration testing of reactor components including reactor inlet plenum components, jet pumps, low-pressure coolant injection coupling, and fuel rods. Cases of self-excited limit cycle response were encountered which required design modifications. The fuel rod tests were made in axially flowing water and steam/water mixtures under adiabatic and boiling conditions

Highlights: • Experimental facility with a 1/5 scale was designed to perform various hydraulic tests of an APR+ reactor. • Two kinds of experiments, balanced and unbalanced flows under 4-pump running conditions were carried out. • The core inlet flow rates and exit pressure distributions were measured and analyzed at 257 discrete points. • The coolant mixing characteristics were investigated with the sectional pressure loss coefficients. - Abstract: The core inlet flow rates and exit pressure distributions of an APR+ (Advanced Power Reactor Plus) reactor were evaluated experimentally with the ACOP (APR+ Core Flow and Pressure) test facility. The ACOP test facility was constructed with a linear reduced scale of 1/5 referring to the APR+ reactor. The major flow path from the clod leg to hot leg was preserved with a principle of similarity. The core region was simulated using 257 core simulators, which are representative of the real HIPER fuel assemblies that APR+ reactor adopted. The core inlet flow rates and pressure distributions along the main flow path, which are significant information as an input data to evaluate the core thermal margin and reactor safety, were obtained by differential pressures measured at core simulators representing 257 fuel assemblies, and the static or differential pressures at 584 points, respectively. Two kinds of experiments, 4-pump balanced and unbalanced flow conditions, were conducted to examine the hydraulic characteristics of the reactor coolant flow. The mass balance and overall pressure drop were carefully examined to check the reliability of the obtained values. The inlet flow rates of the two test results showed similar distributions, which met the hydraulic performance requirement. The details of these experiments, the facility, and a data analysis are also described in this paper.

For the development of innovative fusion reactors, we examine the film flow along the first wall to simplify blanket and reduce the cost. A film flow is formed in primary cooling circuits of the light water reactors (LWR) when the loss of coolant accident (LOCA) occurs and a cold water is injected into the primary systems. In order to estimate the interfacial condensation rate at the developing region, it is required to have the knowledge about interfacial turbulent thermal diffusion of a thick film flow. Therefore, these systems have the same problem of heat transfer and transport inside the film flows. It is necessary to investigate the velocity and turbulence characteristics that have a close relation to the heat transfer and transport. Although there have been performed various studies on turbulence structure having free surface in a fully developed flow region, the turbulence properties of the film flows in a developing flow region has not been investigated sufficiently. Thus, we measure the velocity profiles and velocity fluctuations in a developing flow region using Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV). Then, experimental data are compared with analytical result that is obtained using the k-ε model of turbulence. (author)

Full Text Available A continuous flow parallel reactor system has been developed to provide a rapid and seamless transition from the discovery phase and production phase of chemical synthesis, particularly in low volume-high value pharmaceuticals production. Using a single fixed bed catalytic meso reactor, reactions can be screened on a small discovery scale over short time scales. The intensified process produces sufficient material for a full analysis. By replication of the single reactor in parallel, the same chemistry can be achieved on a larger scale, on a small footprint and without the mass and heat transport limitations of reactor scale-out in batch.

Internal-loop granular sludge bed nitrifying reactor is a new type of aerobic nitrifying equipment and has shown a good potential for nitrification. To study the flow pattern and construct the flow model, the tracer tests were performed using pulse stimulus-response technique. Based on the experimental results, the flow pattern in the settling section and the circulating section of reactor were analyzed by axial dispersion model and tank-in-series model, respectively. The dispersion number D/uL of 0.00148 in the settling section indicates that its flow pattern is similar to plug flowreactor (PFR), and the series number N of 1.021 in the circulating section indicates that its flow pattern is similar to continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR). During steady state, the theoretic hydraulic retention time is 360 min, and the actual hydraulic retention time is 341.2 min. The percentage of dead space in the reactor is 5.22%, thereinto the dead space caused by biomass (db ) is 0.75 % and the hydraulic dead space (dh) is 4.47%, which shows that the structural performance of the reactor is excellent. Based on the experiments and analysis, a model of CSTR and PFR in series was constructed. The actual hydraulic retention time distribution of the reactor is in good agreement with the model predictions. Since the relative error between them is 8.56%, the model is accurate to describe the flow pattern. The results have laid a foundation for the kinetic model of the reactor and will be helpful for its design and operation.

During a severe accident, when a molten corium is relocated in a reactor vessel lower head, the RCF(Reactor Cavity Flooding) system for ERVC (External Reactor Vessel Cooling) is actuated and coolants are supplied into a reactor cavity to remove a decay heat from the molten corium. This severe accident mitigation strategy for maintaining a integrity of reactor vessel was adopted in the nuclear power plants of APR1400, AP600, and AP1000. Under the ERVC condition, the upward two-phase flow is driven by the amount of the decay heat from the molten corium. To achieve the ERVC strategy, the two-phase natural circulation in the annular gap between the external reactor vessel and the insulation should be formed sufficiently by designing the coolant inlet/outlet area and gap size adequately on the insulation device. Also the natural circulation flow restriction has to be minimized. In this reason, it is needed to review the fundamental structure of insulation. In the existing power plants, the insulation design is aimed at minimizing heat losses under a normal operation. Under the ERVC condition, however, the ability to form the two-phase natural circulation is uncertain. Namely, some important factors, such as the coolant inlet/outlet areas, flow restriction, and steam vent etc. in the flow channel, should be considered for ERVC design. T-HEMES 1D study is launched to estimate the natural circulation flow under the ERVC condition of APR1400. The experimental facility is one-dimensional and scaled down as the half height and 1/238 channel area of the APR1400 reactor vessel. The air injection method was used to simulate the boiling at the external reactor vessel and generate the natural circulation two-phase flow. From the experimental results, the natural circulation flow rate highly depended on inlet/outlet areas and the circulation flow rate increased as the outlet height as well as the supplied water head increased. On the other hand, the simple analysis using the drift

A mathematical model of microbial growth for limiting nutrient in a plug flowreactor which accounts for the colonization of the reactor wall surface by the microbes is formulated and studied analytically and numerically. It can be viewed as a model of the large intestine or of the fouling of a commercial bio-reactor or pipe flow. Two steady state regimes are identified, namely, the complete washout of the microbes from the reactor and the successful colonization of both the wall and bulk fluid by the microbes. Only one steady state is stable for any particular set of parameter values. Sharp and explicit conditions are given for the stability of each, and for the long term persistence of the bacteria in the reactor.

Full Text Available The concept of a continuous process in producing biodiesel from jatropha oil by using an Oscillatory Flow Biodiesel Reactor (OFBR is discussed in this paper. It has been recognized that the batch stirred reactor is a primary mode used in the synthesis of biodiesel. However, pulsatile flow has been extensively researcehed and the fundamental principles have been successfully developed upon which its hydrodynamics are based. Oscillatory flow biodiesel reactor offers precise control of mixing by means of the baffle geometry and pulsation which facilitates to continuous operation, giving plug flow residence time distribution with high turbulence and enhanced mass and heat transfer. In conjunction with the concept of reactor design, parameters such as reactor dimensions, the hydrodynamic studies and physical properties of reactants must be considered prior to the design work initiated recently. The OFBR reactor design involves the use of simulation software, ASPEN PLUS and the reactor design fundamentals. Following this, the design parameters shall be applied in fabricating the OFBR for laboratory scale biodiesel production.

Fundamental experiments using water were carried out in order to reveal the phenomenon of mixed convective flow penetration into subassemblies from a reactor`s upper plenum of fast breeder reactors. This phenomenon appears under a certain natural circulation conditions during the operation of the direct reactor auxiliary cooling system for decay heat removal and might influence the natural circulation head which determines the core flow rate and therefore affects the core coolability. In the experiment, a simplified model which simulates an upper plenum and a subassembly was used and the ultrasonic velocity profile monitor as well as thermocouples were applied for the simultaneous measurement of velocity and temperature distributions in the subassembly. From the measured data, empirical equations related to the penetration flow onset condition and the penetration depth were obtained using relevant parameters which were derived from dimensional analysis.

Oxidation flowreactors (OFRs) or environmental chambers can be used to estimate secondary aerosol formation potential of different emission sources. Emissions from anthropogenic sources, such as vehicles, often vary on short timescales. For example, to identify the vehicle driving conditions that lead to high potential secondary aerosol emissions, rapid oxidation of exhaust is needed. However, the residence times in environmental chambers and in most oxidation flowreactors are too long to study these transient effects ( ˜ 100 s in flowreactors and several hours in environmental chambers). Here, we present a new oxidation flowreactor, TSAR (TUT Secondary Aerosol Reactor), which has a short residence time ( ˜ 40 s) and near-laminar flow conditions. These improvements are achieved by reducing the reactor radius and volume. This allows studying, for example, the effect of vehicle driving conditions on the secondary aerosol formation potential of the exhaust. We show that the flow pattern in TSAR is nearly laminar and particle losses are negligible. The secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced in TSAR has a similar mass spectrum to the SOA produced in the state-of-the-art reactor, PAM (potential aerosol mass). Both reactors produce the same amount of mass, but TSAR has a higher time resolution. We also show that TSAR is capable of measuring the secondary aerosol formation potential of a vehicle during a transient driving cycle and that the fast response of TSAR reveals how different driving conditions affect the amount of formed secondary aerosol. Thus, TSAR can be used to study rapidly changing emission sources, especially the vehicular emissions during transient driving.

A novel stopped flowreactor system is described in the current work, along with the underlying design philosophy. While the concept of stopped flow technology is not recent, this system is the first to be designed with the objective of studying particle morphology, and to work at extremely short

Flow synthesis in microfluidic devices has been rapidly adapted in the pharmaceutical industry and in many research laboratories. Yet, the cost of commercial flowreactors is a major factor limiting the dissemination of this technology in the undergraduate curriculum. Here, we present a laboratory activity where students design and fabricate…

Full Text Available A pilot anaerobic reactor was installed to remove the organic load of wastewater from dairy industry. It uses a bacterial inoculum previously acclimated to the substrate. It was disposed horizontally and filled with pieces of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, from plastic bottles. The reactor was operated at room temperature, during 100 days, in three phases: 1 the reactor was stabilized with volumetric organic load from 0.013 to 0.500 kg/day.m³; 2 the hydraulic retention time was of 1 day and the volumetric organic load of 3 kg/day.m³; 3 the volumetric organic load was incremented from 4 to 6.6 kg/day.m³ and the hydraulic retention time was 1 day. Organic material removal efficiencies was of 85%, and approximately 75% were obtained in the second and third phase, respectively. The Y value was 0.15, indicating that 0.15 kg of biomass were generated by kg of QDO supplied to the reactor. Finally, the biomass generated inside the reactor was analyzed, obtaining a value of 18868 mg/L, which is a higher value than those of conventional systems.

Analytical and numerical investigations of critical heat flux (CHF) and reactor thermal limits are conducted for oscillatory two-phase flows often associated with natural circulation conditions. It is shown that the CHF and associated thermal limits depend on the amplitude of the flow oscillations, the period of the flow oscillations, and the thermal properties and dimensions of the heater. The value of the thermal limit can be much lower in unsteady flow situations than would be expected using time average flow conditions. It is also shown that the properties of the heater strongly influence the thermal limit value in unsteady flow situations, which is very important to the design of experiments to evaluate thermal limits for reactor fuel systems.

Cadmium reactor types can be grouped into four categories: packed bed; filamentous; open tubular; and planar. Packed bed cadmium reactors, in the form of cadmium filings, granules, powder, or electrolytically precipitated needles packed into glass or polymeric tubes, are by far the most widely used for both FIA and CFA methods. Surprisingly, filamentous cadmium reactors, in the form of cadmium wire slipped into flexible polymeric tubing, have been reported for CFA applications only. Open tubular cadmium reactors, in the form of small diameter cadmium tubing coiled into a helix, have been fully characterized and described for CFA applications. A preliminary description of planar cadmium reactors, in the form of cadmium foil sandwiched between continuous flow dialyzer blocks has also been reported. In this presentation, each reactor type is evaluated in terms of cost, ease of use, reduction efficiency, and long-term stability. Factors that make some reactors more applicable to FIA than to CFA (or the reverse) are also discussed, and experimental data are presented

Two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors were started-up and operated for approximately 900 days to examine the feasibility of treating municipal wastewater under low temperature conditions. A modified solid distribution model was formulated by incorporating the variation of biogas production rate with a change in temperature. This model was used to optimize the sludge blanket height of UASB reactors for an effective operation of gas-liquid-solid (GLS) separation device. This model was found to simulate well the solid distribution as confirmed experimental observation of solid profile along the height of the reactor. Mathematical analysis of tracer curves indicated the presence of a mixed type of flow pattern in the sludge-bed zone of the reactor. It was found that the dead-zone and by-pass flow fraction were impacted by the change in operating temperatures. (author)

Experimental techniques which can be potentially utilized to measure the gas velocity fields in nonisothermal CVD systems both in ground-based and space-based investigations are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of a three-component laser velocimetry (LV) system that was adapted specifically for quantitative determination of the mixed convective flows in a chamber for crystal growth and film formation by CVD are discussed. Data from a horizontal research CVD reactor indicate that current models for the effects of thermophoretic force are not adequate to predict the thermophoretic bias in arbitrary flow configurations. It is concluded that LV techniques are capable of characterizing the fluid dynamics of a CVD reactor at typical growth temperatures. Thermal effects are shown to dominate and stabilize the fluid dynamics of the reactor. Heating of the susceptor increases the gas velocities parallel to the face of a slanted susceptor by up to a factor of five.

Very frequently outgoing streams of real wastewaters do not have a definite and constant composition. Additionally, when the degradation process makes use of solar irradiation, the photon flux is hardly constant. These two factors strongly militate against the use of very elaborate, exact models for analyzing the performance of the employed reactors. In these cases, approximate methods may be the most practical approach. One possible way is presented in this paper. The observed photonic efficiency concept developed in a previous contribution (sagawe et al., 2002a) is applied to continuous reactors for both steady state and transient operations of photocatalytic reactions applied to wastewaters decontamination processes. For this reactor the local observed photonic efficiency, defined at each reactor longitudinal position, is the convenient property to express the concentration spatial evolution. It is also shown that the description of the reactor performance employing a mass balance can be done in a rather simple way introducing a mass-moving coordinate transformation that remodel the mass inventory and permits working with simpler ordinary differential equations. (orig.)

Nuclear reactor two-phase flows remain a great engineering challenge, where the high-resolution two-phase flow database which can inform practical model development is still sparse due to the extreme reactor operation conditions and measurement difficulties. Owing to the rapid growth of computing power, the direct numerical simulation (DNS) is enjoying a renewed interest in investigating the related flow problems. A combination between DNS and an interface tracking method can provide a unique opportunity to study two-phase flows based on first principles calculations. More importantly, state-of-the-art high-performance computing (HPC) facilities are helping unlock this great potential. This paper reviews the recent research progress of two-phase flow DNS related to reactor applications. The progress in large-scale bubbly flow DNS has been focused not only on the sheer size of those simulations in terms of resolved Reynolds number, but also on the associated advanced modeling and analysis techniques. Specifically, the current areas of active research include modeling of sub-cooled boiling, bubble coalescence, as well as the advanced post-processing toolkit for bubbly flow simulations in reactor geometries. A novel bubble tracking method has been developed to track the evolution of bubbles in two-phase bubbly flow. Also, spectral analysis of DNS database in different geometries has been performed to investigate the modulation of the energy spectrum slope due to bubble-induced turbulence. In addition, the single-and two-phase analysis results are presented for turbulent flows within the pressurized water reactor (PWR) core geometries. The related simulations are possible to carry out only with the world leading HPC platforms. These simulations are allowing more complex turbulence model development and validation for use in 3D multiphase computational fluid dynamics (M-CFD) codes.

In this work the pressure drop, the flow distribution, effective cooling flow rate and the velocity in the subchannels that cool fuel plates for the new core of RA-6 research reactor were calculated. These calculations were performed for a flow of 340 m 3 /hr and water temperatures of 12 C degrees, of 35 C degrees and 42 C degrees. The flow distribution was calculated without considering either safety factors or geometric changes. All the calculations were performed considering the flow as isothermal. (author) [es

A review of literature associated with Pebble Bed and Particle Bed reactor core research has revealed a systemic problem inherent to reactor core concepts which utilize randomized rather than structured coolant channel flow paths. For both the Pebble Bed and Particle Bed Reactor designs; case studies reveal that for indeterminate reasons, regions within the core would suffer from excessive heating leading to thermal runaway and localized fuel melting. A thermal Computational Fluid Dynamics model was utilized to verify that In both the Pebble Bed and Particle Bed Reactor concepts randomized coolant channel pathways combined with localized high temperature regions would work together to resist the flow of coolant diverting it away from where it is needed the most to cooler less resistive pathways where it is needed the least. In other words given the choice via randomized coolant pathways the reactor coolant will take the path of least resistance, and hot zones offer the highest resistance. Having identified the relationship between randomized coolant channel pathways and localized fuel melting it is now safe to assume that other reactor concepts that utilize randomized coolant pathways such as the foam core reactor are also susceptible to this phenomenon.

The Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) is a 4th generation nuclear reactor which is conceptually similar to moving bed reactors used in the chemical and petrochemical industries. In a PBR core, nuclear fuel in the form of pebbles moves slowly under the influence of gravity. Due to the dynamic nature of the core, a thorough understanding about slow and dense granular flow of pebbles is required from both a reactor safety and performance evaluation point of view. In this dissertation, a new integrated experimental and computational study of granular flow in a PBR has been performed. Continuous pebble re-circulation experimental set-up, mimicking flow of pebbles in a PBR, is designed and developed. Experimental investigation of the flow of pebbles in a mimicked test reactor was carried out for the first time using non-invasive radioactive particle tracking (RPT) and residence time distribution (RTD) techniques to measure the pebble trajectory, velocity, overall/zonal residence times, flow patterns etc. The tracer trajectory length and overall/zonal residence time is found to increase with change in pebble's initial seeding position from the center towards the wall of the test reactor. Overall and zonal average velocities of pebbles are found to decrease from the center towards the wall. Discrete element method (DEM) based simulations of test reactor geometry were also carried out using commercial code EDEM(TM) and simulation results were validated using the obtained benchmark experimental data. In addition, EDEM(TM) based parametric sensitivity study of interaction properties was carried out which suggests that static friction characteristics play an important role from a packed/pebble beds structural characterization point of view. To make the RPT technique viable for practical applications and to enhance its accuracy, a novel and dynamic technique for RPT calibration was designed and developed. Preliminary feasibility results suggest that it can be implemented as a non

Object: To permit a valve operation test to be periodically made during plant operation without causing variations in plant power by detecting flow control valve defect on the basis of a valve aperture alteration instruction. Structure: Step signals which are equal in absolute value and opposite in sign are coupled to the input side of flow controllers provided on the recycling loops of two or more recycling flow control systems. With these inputs the aperture of the flow control valve on one side is increased (or reduced) while the aperture of the valve on the other side is reduced (or increased). As a result, the recycling flow rate in the loop on one side is increased (or reduced) while that on the other side is reduced (or increased). Whether the valve is normally operating or not is confirmed by checking the recycling flow rate and valve aperture. (Nakamura, S.)

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is a non-intrusive technique for simultaneously measuring the velocities at many points in a fluid flow. The PIV system used is comprised of Nd:YAG laser source, CCD (Charged Coupled Device) camera, timing controller (to control the laser and camera) and software used for analyzing the flow velocities. Several case studies related to nuclear reactor were performed with the PIV system. Some of the cases like flow in circular tube, submerged jet, natural convection in a water pool, flow field of moderator inlet diffuser of 500 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) and fluidic flow control device (FFCD) used in advanced accumulator of Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) have been studied using PIV system. Theoretical studies have been performed and comparisons with PIV results are also given in the present studies. (author)

Recently a design of new reactor, APR+, is being developed, as an advanced type of APR1400. In order to analyze the thermal margin and hydraulic characteristics of APR+, quantification tests for flow and pressure distribution with a conservation of flow geometry are necessary. Hetsroni (1967) proposed four principal parameters for a hydraulic model representing a nuclear reactor prototype: geometry, relative roughness, Reynolds number, and Euler number. He concluded that the Euler number should be similar in the prototype and model under the preservation of the aspect ratio on the flow path. The effect of the Reynolds number at its higher values on the Euler number is rather small, since the dependency of the form and frictional loss coefficients on the Reynolds number is seen to be small. ABB-CE has carried out several reactorflow model test programs, mostly for its prototype reactors. A series of tests were conducted using a 3/16 scale reactor model. (see Lee et al., 2001). Lee et al (1991) performed experimental studies using a 1/5.03 scale reactorflow model of Yonggwang nuclear units 3 and 4. They showed that the measured data met the acceptance criteria and were suitable for their intended use in terms of performance and safety analyses. The design of current test facility was based on the conservation of Euler number which is a ratio of pressure drop to dynamic pressure with a sufficiently turbulent region having a high Reynolds number. By referring to the previous study, the APR+ design is linearly reduced to 1/5 ratio with a 1/2 of the velocity scale, which yields a 1/39.7 of Reynolds number scaling ratio. In the present study, the design feature of the facilities, named 'ACOP', in order to investigate flow and pressure distribution are described

Over the last years a new type of tubular plug flowreactor, the segmented flow tubular reactor (SFTR), has proven its versatility and robustness through the water-based synthesis of precipitates as varied as CaCO3, BaTiO3, Mn(1−x)NixC2O4·2H2O, YBa oxalates, copper oxalate, ZnS, ZnO, iron oxides, and TiO2 produced with a high powder quality (phase composition, particle size, and shape) and high reproducibility. The SFTR has been developed to overcome the classical problems of powder producti...

This report presents charge and discharge mass flow data for reactors judged to have received sufficient technical development to enable them to be demonstrated or commercially available by the year 2000. Brief descriptions of the reactors and fuel cycles evaluated are presented. A discussion of the neutronics methods used to produce the mass flow data is provided. Detailed charge and discharge fuel isotopics are presented. U/sub 3/O/sub 8/, separative work, and fissile material requirements are computed and provided for each fuel cycle.

The theoretical background for a novel, countercurrent gas—solid—solid trickle flowreactor for equilibrium gas reactions is presented. A one-dimensional, steady-state reactor model is developed. The influence of the various process parameters on the reactor performance is discussed. The physical

An idealized model is developed for the case in which biomass slurry is conveyed through an annulus, with water or steam entering through an inner porous wall and liquid product leaving through an outer porous wall. It is assumed that the ratio of occluded liquid to solid in the slurry is a constant, Rws, and that non-occluded water is immediately removed from the reactor. The goal of > 90% sugar yield with > 10% sugar in the product is almost reached (88% glucose yield, 91% xylose yield, 47 g/l glucose and 45 g/l xylose) at 240 degrees C, 1% acid. Rws = 1 and a radial wash water flow of three times the initial mass flow of solids to the reactor per meter of reactor length per g/l of sugar concentration in the occluded water. If Rws is limited to 3, the yield falls to 85% and the total sugar concentration to 61 g/l. Even without cross-flow wash, the yields can be increased by about 16 percentage points, compared to plug flow, by extracting excess liquid through the outer wall as it is formed. At 200 degrees C, where one might prefer to operate for ease of control and concern about the possibility of making fermentation inhibitors at higher temperatures, the maximum glucose yield in a plug-flowreactor is low (12-13%) whereas in a cross-flowreactor, at a high cross-flow wash rate, it can still be quite high (60-83%) but at a very low concentration (0.57-1.47%). In these simulations it is assumed that one-half of the inerts is solubilized. The formation of oligomers is neglected.

The Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (BMR) is currently being projected and analyzed. It will be a 30 MW open pool multipurpose research reactor with a compact core using Materials Testing Reactor (MTR) type fuel assembly, with planar plates. BMR will be cooled by light water and moderated by beryllium and heavy water. This work presents the calculations of steady state operation of BMR using the RELAP5 model and also three transient cases of loss of flow accident (LOFA), in the primary cooling system. A LOFA may arise through failures associated with the primary cooling system pumps or through events resulting in a decrease in the primary coolant flow with the primary cooling system pumps functioning normally. The cases presented in this paper are: primary cooling system pump shaft seizure, failure of one primary cooling system pump motor and failure of both primary cooling system pump motors. In the shaft seizure case, the flow reduction is sudden, with the blocking of the flow coast down The motor failure cases, deal with the failure of one or two pump motor due to, for example, malfunction or interruption of power and differently of the shaft seizure it can be observed the flow coast down provided by the pump inertia. It is shown that after all initiating events the reactor reaches a safe new steady state keeping the integrity of the fuel elements. (author)

The Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (BMR) is currently being projected and analyzed. It will be a 30 MW open pool multipurpose research reactor with a compact core using Materials Testing Reactor (MTR) type fuel assembly, with planar plates. BMR will be cooled by light water and moderated by beryllium and heavy water. This work presents the calculations of steady state operation of BMR using the RELAP5 model and also three transient cases of loss of flow accident (LOFA), in the primary cooling system. A LOFA may arise through failures associated with the primary cooling system pumps or through events resulting in a decrease in the primary coolant flow with the primary cooling system pumps functioning normally. The cases presented in this paper are: primary cooling system pump shaft seizure, failure of one primary cooling system pump motor and failure of both primary cooling system pump motors. In the shaft seizure case, the flow reduction is sudden, with the blocking of the flow coast down The motor failure cases, deal with the failure of one or two pump motor due to, for example, malfunction or interruption of power and differently of the shaft seizure it can be observed the flow coast down provided by the pump inertia. It is shown that after all initiating events the reactor reaches a safe new steady state keeping the integrity of the fuel elements. (author)

Full Text Available Flow pattern analysis in a spiral Helix reactor is conducted, for the application in the commercial surfactant production. Step change response curves (SCR were obtained from numerical tracer experiments by three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD simulations. Non-reactive flow is simulated, though viscosity is treated as variable in the direction of flow, as it increases during the reaction. The design and operating parameters (reactor diameter, number of coils and inlet velocity are varied in CFD simulations, in order to examine the effects on the flow pattern. Given that 3D simulations are not practical for fast computations needed for optimization, scale-up and control, CFD flow model is reduced to one-dimensional axial dispersion (AD model with spatially variable dispersion coefficient. Dimensionless dispersion coefficient (Pe is estimated under different conditions and results are analyzed. Finally, correlation which relates Pe number with Reynolds number and number of coils from the reactor entrance is proposed for the particular reactor application and conditions.

The uniform core inlet flow distribution of an Advanced Power Reactor Plus (APR+) is required to prevent the failure rate of the HIPER fuel assembly and improve the core thermal margin. KEPCO-E and C and KAERI proposed a design change of the Lower Support Structure Bottom Plate (LSSBP), since the core flow rates were intense near the outer region of the intact LSSBP in a previous study. In this study, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of the design change of the LSSBP on the core flow distribution using the APR+ Core Flow and Pressure (ACOP) test facility. The results showed great improvement on the core flow distribution under a 4-pump balanced flow condition. Under the 4-pump balanced flow condition, fifteen tests were repeated using the ACOP test facility to verify the effect of the 50% blocked flow area at the outer region of the LSSBP on the core inlet flow distribution. The profiles of the core inlet mass flow rates were analyzed using ensemble averaged values, and compared with that of the intact LSSBP. The results showed great improvement for the overall core region. The change in design of the LSSBP is expected to improve the hydraulic performance of an APR+ reactor.

Full Text Available A mathematical analysis has been carried out for stagnation-point heat and mass transfer of a viscoelastic fluid over a stretching sheet with surface slip velocity, concentration dependent diffusivity, thermal convective boundary conditions, and heat source/sink. The governing partial differential equations are reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using Lie group analysis. Numerical solutions of the resulting ordinary differential equations are obtained using shooting method. The influences of various parameters on velocity, temperature, and mass profiles have been studied. Also, the effects of various parameters on the local skin-friction coefficient, the local Nusselt number, and the local Sherwood number are given in graphics form and discussed.

Native liver ferritin of Dasyatis akajei (DALF), apoDALF, and reconstituted DALF were employed to construct a ferritin reactor, respectively. An apparatus consisting of a mixer, a ferritin reactor, and a magnetic stirrer was constructed to study capacity and feasibility of trapping Cu2+ in the flowing seawater. The experimental results showed that the numbers of trapping Cu2+ with DALF reactor were higher than these with the reactors of apoDALF and reconstituted DALF, respectively, giving the maximal numbers of 98 +/- 5 Cu2+ per molecular DALF in 120 h. We found that the iron layer with a high ratio of phosphate to ion on the surface of the ferritin core played an important role in increasing numbers of trapping Cu2+. In addition, we found two positive relations of dependence of trapping Cu2+ numbers with the reactor on the incubation time and on the Cu2+ concentration in the flowing seawater. Another apparatus consisting of a buoyage, an isolation basket equipped with griddling, and a scrolled ferritin reactor was constructed to study the feasibility of trapping Cu2+ in the sea area. Moreover, the present studies indicated that this apparatus had been used to not only analyze and evaluate the concentration variety of various heavy metal ions such as Cu2+ and Pb2+ diluting by the seawater but also monitor the formation of pollution degree by various small organic molecules during the climax and the neap.

A regional groundwater flow model encompassing approximately 100 mi2 surrounding the C, K, L, and P reactor areas has been developed. The reactorflow model is designed to meet the planning objectives outlined in the General Groundwater Strategy for Reactor Area Projects by providing a common framework for analyzing groundwater flow, contaminant migration and remedial alternatives within the Reactor Projects team of the Environmental Restoration Department. The model provides a quantitative understanding of groundwater flow on a regional scale within the near surface aquifers and deeper semi-confined to confined aquifers. The model incorporates historical and current field characterization data up through Spring 1999. Model preprocessing is automated so that future updates and modifications can be performed quickly and efficiently. The CKLP regional reactor model can be used to guide characterization, perform scoping analyses of contaminant transport, and serve as a common base for subsequent finer-scale transport and remedial/feasibility models for each reactor area

A regional groundwater flow model encompassing approximately 100 mi2 surrounding the C, K, L, and P reactor areas has been developed. The reactorflow model is designed to meet the planning objectives outlined in the General Groundwater Strategy for Reactor Area Projects by providing a common framework for analyzing groundwater flow, contaminant migration and remedial alternatives within the Reactor Projects team of the Environmental Restoration Department. The model provides a quantitative understanding of groundwater flow on a regional scale within the near surface aquifers and deeper semi-confined to confined aquifers. The model incorporates historical and current field characterization data up through Spring 1999. Model preprocessing is automated so that future updates and modifications can be performed quickly and efficiently. The CKLP regional reactor model can be used to guide characterization, perform scoping analyses of contaminant transport, and serve as a common base for subsequent finer-scale transport and remedial/feasibility models for each reactor area.

An overview has been presented of flow-induced and acoustically induced vibration failures that occurred in the past in gas-cooled graphite-moderated reactors, and the importance of this experience for the Gas-Cooled Fast-Breeder Reactor (GCFR) project has been assessed. Until now only failures in CO 2 -cooled reactors have been found. No problems with helium-cooled reactors have been encountered so far. It is shown that most of the failures occurred because flow-induced and acoustically induced dynamic loads were underestimated, while at the same time not enough was known about the influence of environmental parameters on material behavior. All problems encountered were solved. The comparison of the influence of the gas properties on acoustically induced and flow-induced vibration phenomena shows that the interaction between reactor design and the thermodynamic properties of the primary coolant precludes a general preference for either carbon dioxide or helium. The acoustic characteristics of CO 2 and He systems are different, but the difference in dynamic loadings due to the use of one rather than the other remains difficult to predict. A slight preference for helium seems, however, to be justified

be achieved by making the baffles deeper. Two-phase simulations were performed, which managed to reproduce the deflection of the gas–liquid interface in an unbaffled system. A chemical reaction was implemented in the model, describing the ion-exchange phenomena in the porous material using four different......A rotating bed reactor (RBR) has been modeled using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The flow pattern in the RBR was investigated and the flow through the porous material in it was quantified. A simplified geometry representing the more complex RBR geometry was introduced and the simplified...... model was able to reproduce the main characteristics of the flow. Alternating reactor shapes were investigated, and it was concluded that the use of baffles has a very large impact on the flows through the porous material. The simulations suggested, therefore, that even faster reaction rates could...

This study investigated the hypothesis of stagnation/acceleration/deceleration in agricultural production in Nigeria for the period 1970-2000 by fitting exponential trend equations to the output data of the country's 23 major agricultural commodities and computing compound annual growth rates of agricultural production.

This paper makes three main points. Fiscal policy, first, may be needed in the long run to maintain full employment and avoid secular stagnation. If fiscal policy is used in this way, second, the long-run debt ratio depends (i) inversely on the rate of growth, (ii) inversely on government consump...

The general health status of a population changes over time, generally in a positive direction. Some generations experience more unfavourable conditions than others. The health of Danish women in the interwar generations is an example of such a phenomenon. The stagnation in their life expectancy ...

Accomplishment of the UF 6 critical cavity experiments, currently in progress, and planned confined flowing UF 6 initial experiments requires development of reliable techniques for handling heated UF 6 throughout extended ranges of temperature, pressure, and flow rate. The development of three laboratory-scale flow systems for handling gaseous UF 6 at temperatures up to 500 K, pressures up to approximately 40 atm, and continuous flow rates up to approximately 50 g/s is presented. A UF 6 handling system fabricated for static critical tests currently being conducted at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) is described. The system was designed to supply UF 6 to a double-walled aluminum core canister assembly at temperatures between 300 K and 400 K and pressures up to 4 atm. A second UF 6 handling system designed to provide a circulating flow of up to 50 g/s of gaseous UF 6 in a closed-loop through a double-walled aluminum core canister with controlled temperature and pressure is described

A comprehensive, high fidelity model for pebble flow has been developed and embodied in the PEBBLES computer code. In this paper, a description of the physical artifacts included in the model is presented and some results from using the computer code for predicting the features of pebble flow and packing in a realistic pebble bed reactor design are shown. The sensitivity of models to various physical parameters is also discussed.

The basic principles of the boundary element method numerical treatment of the radial flow heat diffusion equation are presented. The algorithm copes the time dependent Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, temperature dependent material properties and regions from different materials in thermal contact. It is verified on the several analytically obtained test cases. The developed method is used for the modelling of unsteady radial heat flow in pressurized water reactor fuel rod. (author)

Some particular characteristics of the steam flow in the accident at the Three Mile Island unit 2 pressurized water reactor are investigated using the AEA Technology Flow3D code. Natural circulation flows with heat removal from the core and deposition in the upper plenum are predicted during the primary heating phase. The structure of the upper plenum cylinder and core blockage, owing to material relocation, are shown to force the flow into a complex three-dimensional pattern. The flows and temperature distributions from the calculations are shown to be consistent with the observed damage pattern above the core. Despite high core temperatures, damage was limited by the operation of one of the pumps at the end of the initial heating phase. Flow3D calculations are also carried out to demonstrate that the three-dimensional buoyancy driven flows are completely destroyed by the high steam generation rates arising from the pump operation. (author)

A new simple flow system which is made up of a multi-rotor high-shear mixer connected to a multimode microwave reactor has been assembled. This simple loop reactor has been successfully used in the NaOH-catalyzed transesterification of refined palm oil in methanol. Thanks to optimal mass/heat transfer, full conversion was achieved within 5 min (biodiesel yield of 99.80%). High-quality biodiesel was obtained that is in accordance with international specifications and analytical ASTM standards. The procedure's high efficiency and low energy consumption should pave the way for process scale up. - Highlights: • The combination of HSM-MW flow system for biodiesel production has been proposed. • Highly efficient mass and heat transfer in transesterification reaction. • The hybrid reactor enables a complete conversion in 5 min reaction time. • The new system halved the energy consumption of conventional processes

AP1OOO reactor is a typical third generation nuclear power plant at present in the world. The primary system of AP10OO nuclear power plant was modeled by using RELAP5/MOD 3.3 code, and the transient thermal hydraulic characteristics were analyzed under the accident sequence of complete loss of forced reactor coolant flow. The calculation results by RELAP5 code were compared with those of the COAST and LOFTRAN codes. The distributions by RELAP5 code were consistent with those of the COAST and LOFTRAN codes. The study results show that the RELAP5 model can accurately simulate the transient thermal hydraulic characteristics of AP1OOO under the accident of complete loss of forced reactor coolant flow. (authors)

Effective destruction of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria has been obtained in a flowing N 2 -O 2 microwave post-discharge reactor. The sterilizing agents are the O atoms and the UV emissions of NOβ which are produced by N and O atoms recombination in the reactor. In the following plasma conditions: pressure 5 Torr, flow rate 1 L n min -1 , microwave power of 100 W in a quartz tube of 5 mm, an O atom density of 2.5x10 15 cm -3 is measured by NO titration in the post-discharge reactor with UV emission in a N 2 -(5%)O 2 gas mixture. Full destruction of 10 13 cfu ml -1 E. coli is observed after a treatment time of 25 min. (rapid communication)

Full Text Available After the 2008 crisis, despite economic recovery that started in 2009, the world economy has experienced a downward shift of its growth path and a consequent decline. As shown at the beginning of this paper, this shift and growth rate stagnation are totally attributable to the economic dynamics in developed economies, the USA and the EU. Explanations of this phenomenon can be divided into two large groups: explanations that belong to the demand side and those that belong to the supply side. The aim of this paper is to give a critical survey of the most important explanations for the ongoing growth stagnation in developed countries and consequently in the entire world economy. This ongoing prolonged stagnation can only be explained by looking at both, the demand and supply sides of the explanation, and particularly by taking a closer look at the interaction between aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In other words, secular stagnation manifests itself as a problem of the limitation of long run growth of aggregate demand. However, in order to explain the causes of those demand limitations, we have to undertake a careful analysis of the supply side dynamics, especially the dynamics of innovations, which bring us to circular and cumulative causation. In order to explain the numerous consequences of this stagnation and to solve some important puzzles, like the productivity paradox for example, a special emphasis is given to the analysis of deindustrialization and the consequent strange reoccurrence of a dual economy within most developed countries during the period of the IT revolution and hyper-globalization. It will also be shown that this new dual economy presents serious limitations for further technological advancement and economic development, quite contrary to the old dualism which contributed to an acceleration of economic growth.

MS received 23 November 2001; revised 5 March 2002. Abstract. Mixing of coaxial jets within a tube in the presence of blockage has been numerically studied. This configuration is encountered during the modelling of flow and heat transfer in CVD (chemical vapour deposition) reactors. For the conditions prevailing in the ...

A new two-phase swirl-flow monolithic-type reactor was designed to study the kinetics of heterogeneous photocatalytic processes on immobilized semiconductor catalysts. True kinetic rate constants for destruction of a textile dye were measured as a function of wavelength of light intensity and angle

The behaviour of an adiabatic packed bed reactor with periodic flow reversal has been studied by means of model calculations. A heterogeneous model as well as a pseudo-homogeneous model have been developed. It is shown that a high degree of conversion can be obtained in an autothermal process even

A plug flowreactor (PFR) is built for investigating the oxidation chemistry of fuels at up to 50 bar and 1000 K. These conditions include those corresponding to the low temperature combustion (i.e. the autoignition) that commonly occurs in internal combustion engines. Turbulent flow that approximates ideal, plug flow conditions is established in a quartz tube reactor. The reacting mixture is highly diluted by excess air to reduce the reaction rates for kinetic investigations. A novel mixer design is used to achieve fast mixing of the preheated air and fuel vapour at the reactor entrance, reducing the issue of reaction initialization in kinetic modelling. A water-cooled probe moves along the reactor extracting gases for further analysis. Measurement of the sampled gas temperature uses an extended form of a three-thermocouple method that corrects for radiative heat losses from the thermocouples to the enclosed PFR environment. Investigation of the PFR’s operation is first conducted using non-reacting flows, and then with isooctane oxidation at 900 K and 10 bar. Mixing of the non-reacting temperature and species fields is shown to be rapid. The measured fuel consumption and CO formation are then closely reproduced by kinetic modelling using an extensively validated iso-octane mechanism from the literature and the corrected gas temperature. Together, these results demonstrate the PFR’s utility for chemical kinetic investigations.

A plug flowreactor (PFR) is built for investigating the oxidation chemistry of fuels at up to 50 bar and 1000 K. These conditions include those corresponding to the low temperature combustion (i.e. the autoignition) that commonly occurs in internal combustion engines. Turbulent flow that approximates ideal, plug flow conditions is established in a quartz tube reactor. The reacting mixture is highly diluted by excess air to reduce the reaction rates for kinetic investigations. A novel mixer design is used to achieve fast mixing of the preheated air and fuel vapour at the reactor entrance, reducing the issue of reaction initialization in kinetic modelling. A water-cooled probe moves along the reactor extracting gases for further analysis. Measurement of the sampled gas temperature uses an extended form of a three-thermocouple method that corrects for radiative heat losses from the thermocouples to the enclosed PFR environment. Investigation of the PFR’s operation is first conducted using non-reacting flows, and then with isooctane oxidation at 900 K and 10 bar. Mixing of the non-reacting temperature and species fields is shown to be rapid. The measured fuel consumption and CO formation are then closely reproduced by kinetic modelling using an extensively validated iso-octane mechanism from the literature and the corrected gas temperature. Together, these results demonstrate the PFR’s utility for chemical kinetic investigations. (paper)

Numerical and experimental study is performed to evaluate the reactant by-pass flow in a catalytic plate reactor with a coated wire mesh catalyst for steam reforming of methane for hydrogen generation. By-pass of unconverted methane is evaluated under different wire mesh catalyst width to reactor...... duct width ratios, the results show that altering this ratio from 0.98 to 0.96 results in an increase in by-pass mass flow of 22%. Effect of catalytic wire mesh flow resistance on by-pass flow has also been investigated and results show increased by-pass flow as catalytic wire mesh flow resistance...... increases. The numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data. The study improves the understanding of the underlying transport phenomena in these reactors and shows that the flow maldistribution in a catalytic plate reactor using a coated wire mesh has to be considered....

Research reactors of power greater than 20 MW are usually designed to be cooled with upward coolant flow direction inside the reactor core. This is mainly to prevent flow inversion problems following a pump coast down. However, in some designs and under certain operating conditions, flow inversion phenomenon is predicted. In the present work, the best-estimate Material Testing Reactors Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis program (MTRTHA) is used to simulate a typical MTR reactor behavior with upward cooling under a hypothetical case of loss of off-site power. The flow inversion phenomenon is predicted under certain decay heat and/or pool temperature values below the design values. The reactor simulation under loss of off-site power is performed for two cases namely; two-flap valves open and one flap-valve fails to open. The model results for the flow inversion phenomenon prediction is analyzed and a solution of the problem is suggested. (orig.)

The instability characteristics of cavitating flow were experimentally investigated in a venturi tube in a recirculating flow loop. The fluctuation process of cavitation flow in the venturi was observed using high-speed photography. The sequential images were analyzed using the light intensity comparison technique and the cavitation length for each image was evaluated. The temporal cavitation length fluctuation vectors were determined at the specified operating condition (the cavitation number and operating pressure). The frequency components of oscillation were obtained using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method. The effects of cavitation number and operating pressure on the Strouhal numbers and amplitudes of fluctuations were obtained. It was found that cavitation number has a major effect on the fluctuation characteristics of the cavitating flow in comparison with the effect of operating pressure. It was observed that at lower cavitation numbers, periodic separation, shedding and collapsing of the cloud-like cavities are observed together with the re-entrant jet motion. At higher cavitation numbers, the simple fluctuation mode with a sinusoidal pattern is observed.

Struvite is a white crystalline that is chemically known as magnesium ammonium phosphorus hexahydrate (MgNH4PO4·6H2O). It can easily dissolve in acidic conditions and slightly soluble in neutral and alkaline conditions. In industry, struvite forms as a scale deposit on a pipe with hot flow fluid. However, struvite can be used as fertilizer because of its phosphate content. A vertical canted reactor is a promising technology for recovering phosphate levels in wastewater through struvite crystallization. The study was carried out with the vertical canted reactor by mixing an equimolar stock solution of MgCl2, NH4OH, and H3PO4 in 1: 1: 1 ratio. The crystallization process worked with the flow rate of three stock solution entering the reactor in the range of 16-38 ml/min, the temperature in the reactor is worked on 20°, 30°, and 40°C, while the incoming air rate is kept constant at 0.25 liters/min. Moreover, pH was maintained at a constant value of 9. The struvite crystallization process run until the steady state was reached. Then, the result of crystal precipitates was filtered and dried at standard temperature room for 48 hours. After that, struvite crystals were stored for the subsequent analysis by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) method. The use of canted reactor provided the high pure struvite with a prismatic crystal morphology.

A new approach to model upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB)-reactors, referred to as a one-dimensional dispersed plug flow model, was developed. This model focusses on the granular sludge dynamics along the reactor height, based on the balance between dispersion, sedimentation and convection using one-dimensional (with regard to reactor height) equations. A universal description of both the fluid hydrodynamics and granular sludge dynamics was elaborated by applying known physical laws and empirical relations derived from experimental observations. In addition, the developed model includes: (1) multiple-reaction stoichiometry, (2) microbial growth kinetics, (3) equilibrium chemistry in the liquid phase, (4) major solid-liquid-gas interactions, and (5) material balances for dissolved and solid components along the reactor height. The integrated model has been validated with a set of experimental data on the start-up, operation performance, sludge dynamics, and solute intermediate concentration profiles of a UASB reactor treating cheese whey [Yan et al. (1989) Biol Wastes 27:289-305; Yan et al. (1993) Biotechnol Bioeng 41:700-706]. A sensitivity analysis of the model, performed with regard to the seed sludge characteristics and the key model parameters, showed that the output of the dispersed plug flow model was most influenced by the sludge settleability characteristics and the growth properties (especially mu(m)) of both protein-degrading bacteria and acetotrophic methanogens.

The new design of a High-Performance Light-Water Reactor (HPLWR) involves a three-pass core with an evaporator region, where the compressed water is heated above the pseudo-critical temperature, and two superheater regions. Due to the strong dependency of the supercritical water density on the temperature significant mass transfer between neighboring cooling channels is expected if the temperature is unevenly distributed across the fuel element. An inter-channel flow is then superimposed to the secondary flow vortices induced by the non-isotropy of turbulence. In order to gain insight into the resulting flow patterns as well as into temperature and density distributions within the various subchannels of the fuel element CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) calculations for the 1/8 fuel element are performed. For simplicity adiabatic boundary conditions at the moderator box and the fuel element box are assumed. Our investigation confirms earlier results obtained by subchannel analysis that the axial mass flux is significantly reduced in the corner subchannel of this fuel element resulting in a net mass flux towards the neighboring subchannels. Our results provide a first estimation of the magnitude of the secondary flows in the pseudo-critical region of a supercritical light-water reactor. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that CFD is an efficient tool for investigations of flow patterns within nuclear reactor fuel elements. (authors)

The course of loss of flow accident and flow inversion in a pool type research reactor, with scram enabled under natural circulation condition is numerically investigated. The analyses were performed by a lumped parameters approach for the coupled kinetic-thermal-hydraulics, with continuous feedback due to coolant and fuel temperature effects. A modified Runge-Kutta method was adopted for a better solution to the set of stiff differential equations. Transient thermal-hydraulics during the process of flow inversion and establishment of natural circulation were considered for a 10-MW IAEA research reactor. Some important parameters such as the peak temperatures for the hot channel were obtained for both high-enriched and low enriched fuel. The model prediction is also verified through comparison with other computer code results reported in the literature for detailed simulations of loss of flow accidents (LOFA) and the agreement between the results for the peak clad temperatures and key parameters has been satisfactory. It was found that the flow inversion and subsequent establishment of natural circulation keep the peak cladding surface temperature below the saturation temperature to avoid the escalation of clad temperature to the level of onset of nucleate boiling and sub-cooled void formation to ensure the safe operation of the reactor

Full Text Available The Bohlmann–Rahtz pyridine synthesis and the Hantzsch dihydropyridine synthesis can be carried out in a microwave flowreactor or using a conductive heating flow platform for the continuous processing of material. In the Bohlmann–Rahtz reaction, the use of a Brønsted acid catalyst allows Michael addition and cyclodehydration to be carried out in a single step without isolation of intermediates to give the corresponding trisubstituted pyridine as a single regioisomer in good yield. Furthermore, 3-substituted propargyl aldehydes undergo Hantzsch dihydropyridine synthesis in preference to Bohlmann–Rahtz reaction in a very high yielding process that is readily transferred to continuous flow processing.

Pebble Bed Reactor(PBR) is one of the very high temperature gas cooled reactors(VHTR) which have been reviewed in the Generation IV International Forum as potential sources for future energy needs, particularly for a hydrogen production. The pebble bed modular reactor(PBMR) exhibits inherent safety features due to the low power density and the large amount of graphite present in the core. PBR uses coated fuel particles(TRISO) embedded in spherical graphite fuel pebbles. The fuel pebbles flow down through the PBR core during a reactor operation and the coolant flows around randomly distributed spheres. For the reliable operation and the safety of the PBR, it is important to understand the coolant flow structure and the fuel pebble temperature in the PBR core. There have been few experimental and numerical studies to investigate the fluid and heat transfer phenomena in the PBR core. The objective of this paper is to predict the fluid and heat transfer in the PBR core. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, STAR-CCM+(V2.08) is used to perform the CFD analysis using the design data for the PBMR400

A reverse flowreactor (RFR) is a packed catalytic bed reactor in which feed flow direction is periodically reversed. When an exothermic catalytic combustion is conducted in a RFR, a hot zone is trapped in the center while both ends of the reactor act as regenerative heat exchanger. This enables an auto thermal operation at high temperatures even for feeds having a low adiabatic temperature rise. These features make RFR highly competitive for VOCs combustion. An experimental study of binary mixture purification in bench scale reverse flowreactor, with an inner diameter of 60 mm, has been carried out. Methane and benzene are chosen due to their different properties. The ignition temperature of methane is higher than any other hydrocarbons and benzene is widely used as solvent in industry. With periodic reversal feed, auto thermal catalytic combustion of very lean binary mixture can be achieved. When peak temperature in the hot zone reaches about 550 degree Celsius, both methane and benzene are well removed and little NOx or no other secondary pollutants are detected. The influence of several operation parameters, such as gas velocity, cycle period and methane-to-benzene ratio are discussed. A mathematical model has been developed and solved using a FORTRAN code, good correspondence being observed between both approaches. This provides a solution if VOC concentration in the contaminated air is too low to maintain an auto thermal operation, while natural gas (which is mainly methane) can be added as auxiliary fuel. (author)

Water flow tests were conducted on a single-fuel-element cooling channel for a nuclear concept to be used for space power. The tests established a method for measuring coolant flow rate which is applicable to water flow testing of a complete mockup of the reference reactor. The inlet plenum-to-outlet plenum pressure drop, which approximates the overall core pressure drop, was measured and correlated with flow rate. This information can be used for reactor coolant flow and heat transfer calculations. An analytical study of the flow characteristics was also conducted.

The differential-flow-induced chemical instability is investigated in the context of two coupled reactors with cubic autocatalytic kinetics (the Gray-Scott model). Previous results for master-slave arrangement [Izús, Deza, and Sánchez, J. Chem. Phys. 132, 234112 (2010)] are extended in this study to include bidirectional coupling between reactions. Numerical simulations in the convectively unstable regime show that synchronized noise-sustained structures are developed in both reactors due to the selective amplification of noise. A theoretical analysis shows that the nature of the synchronization and the stability of the synchronized manifold are related with the properties of the critical modes.

Flow-Induced vibration for Light Water Reactors (FIV for LWRs) is a four-year program designed to improve the FIV performance of light water reactors through the development of design criteria, analytical models for predicting behavior of components, general scaling laws to improve the accuracy of reduced-scale tests, and the identification of high FIV risk areas. The program commenced December 1, 1976, but was suspended on September 30, 1978, due to a shift in Department of Energy (DOE) priorities away from LWR productivity/availability. It was reinitiated as of August 1, 1979. This progress report summarizes the accomplishments achieved during the period from April 1978 to December 1979

A new 3rd generation pilot plant is being used for hot catalytic raw gas cleaning. It is based on a 15 cm. i.d. fluidized bed with biomass throughputs of 400-650 kg/h.m{sup 2}. Gasification is performed using mixtures of steam and oxygen. The produced gas is passed in a slip flow by two reactors in series containing a calcined dolomite and a commercial reforming catalyst. Tars are periodically sampled and analysed after the three reactors. Tar conversions of 99.99 % and a 300 % increase of the hydrogen content in the gas are obtained. (author) (2 refs.)

Ames, Forrest [University of North Dakota; Kingery, Joseph E. [University of North Dakota

2015-06-17

A database for stagnation region heat transfer has been extended to include heat transfer measurements acquired downstream from a new high intensity turbulence generator. This work was motivated by gas turbine industry heat transfer designers who deal with heat transfer environments with increasing Reynolds numbers and very high turbulence levels. The new mock aero-combustor turbulence generator produces turbulence levels which average 17.4%, which is 37% higher than the older turbulence generator. The increased level of turbulence is caused by the reduced contraction ratio from the liner to the exit. Heat transfer measurements were acquired on two large cylindrical leading edge test surfaces having a four to one range in leading edge diameter (40.64 cm and 10.16 cm). Gandvarapu and Ames [1] previously acquired heat transfer measurements for six turbulence conditions including three grid conditions, two lower turbulence aero-combustor conditions, and a low turbulence condition. The data are documented and tabulated for an eight to one range in Reynolds numbers for each test surface with Reynolds numbers ranging from 62,500 to 500,000 for the large leading edge and 15,625 to 125,000 for the smaller leading edge. The data show augmentation levels of up to 136% in the stagnation region for the large leading edge. This heat transfer rate is an increase over the previous aero-combustor turbulence generator which had augmentation levels up to 110%. Note, the rate of increase in heat transfer augmentation decreases for the large cylindrical leading edge inferring only a limited level of turbulence intensification in the stagnation region. The smaller cylindrical leading edge shows more consistency with earlier stagnation region heat transfer results correlated on the TRL (Turbulence, Reynolds number, Length scale) parameter. The downstream regions of both test surfaces continue to accelerate the flow but at a much lower rate than the leading edge. Bypass transition occurs

Efficient conversion of “mixing energy” to electricity through capacitive mixing (CapMix) has been limited by low energy recoveries, low power densities, and noncontinuous energy production resulting from intermittent charging and discharging cycles. We show here that a CapMix system based on a four-reactor process with flow electrodes can generate constant and continuous energy, providing a more flexible platform for harvesting mixing energy. The power densities were dependent on the flow-electrode carbon loading, with 5.8 ± 0.2 mW m–2 continuously produced in the charging reactor and 3.3 ± 0.4 mW m–2 produced in the discharging reactor (9.2 ± 0.6 mW m–2 for the whole system) when the flow-electrode carbon loading was 15%. Additionally, when the flow-electrode electrolyte ion concentration increased from 10 to 20 g L–1, the total power density of the whole system (charging and discharging) increased to 50.9 ± 2.5 mW m–2.

The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is one of the most promising system proposed by Generation IV Forum (GIF) for future nuclear reactor systems. Advantages of the MSR are significantly larger compared to other reactor system, and is mainly achieved from its liquid nature of fuel and coolant. Further improvement to this system, which is a natural circulating molten fuel salt inside its tube in the reactor core is proposed, to achieve advantages of reducing and simplifying the MSR design proposed by GIF. Thermal hydraulic analysis on the proposed system was completed using a commercial computation fluid dynamics (CFD) software called FLUENT by ANSYS Inc. An understanding on theory behind this unique natural circulation flow inside the tube caused by fission heat generated in molten fuel salt and tube cooling was briefly introduced. Currently, no commercial CFD software could perfectly simulate natural circulation flow, hence, modeling this flow problem in FLUENT is introduced and analyzed to obtain best simulation results. Results obtained demonstrate the existence of periodical transient nature of flow problem, hence improvements in tube design is proposed based on the analysis on temperature and velocity profile. Results show that the proposed system could operate at up to 750MW core power, given that turbulence are enhanced throughout flow region, and precise molten fuel salt physical properties could be defined. At the request of the authors and the Proceedings Editor the name of the co-author Andrea Cioncolini was corrected from Andrea Coincolini. The same name correction was made in the Acknowledgement section on page 030004-10 and in reference number 4. The updated article was published on 11 May 2015.

Variations in cavity wall and injection configurations of the gas core reactor were aimed at establishing flow patterns that give a maximum of the nuclear criticality eigenvalue. Correlation with the nuclear effect was made using multigroup diffusion theory normalized by previous benchmark critical experiments. Air was used to simulate the hydrogen propellant in the flow tests, and smoked air, argon, or Freon to simulate the central nuclear fuel gas. Tests were run both in the down-firing and upfiring directions. Results showed that acceptable flow patterns with volume fraction for the simulated nuclear fuel gas and high flow rate ratios of propellant to fuel can be obtained. Using a point injector for the fuel, good flow patterns are obtained by directing the outer gas at high velocity long the cavity wall, using louvered injection schemes. Recirculation patterns were needed to stabilize the heavy central gas when different gases are used.

Uncertainties associated with the core bypass flow are some of the key issues that directly influence the coolant mass flow distribution and magnitude, and thus the operational core temperature profiles, in the very high-temperature reactor (VHTR). Designers will attempt to configure the core geometry so the core cooling flow rate magnitude and distribution conform to the design values. The objective of this project is to study the bypass flow both experimentally and computationally. Researchers will develop experimental data using state-of-the-art particle image velocimetry in a small test facility. The team will attempt to obtain full field temperature distribution using racks of thermocouples. The experimental data are intended to benchmark computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes by providing detailed information. These experimental data are urgently needed for validation of the CFD codes. The following are the project tasks: • Construct a small-scale bench-top experiment to resemble the bypass flow between the graphite blocks, varying parameters to address their impact on bypass flow. Wall roughness of the graphite block walls, spacing between the blocks, and temperature of the blocks are some of the parameters to be tested. • Perform CFD to evaluate pre- and post-test calculations and turbulence models, including sensitivity studies to achieve high accuracy. • Develop the state-of-the art large eddy simulation (LES) using appropriate subgrid modeling. • Develop models to be used in systems thermal hydraulics codes to account and estimate the bypass flows. These computer programs include, among others, RELAP3D, MELCOR, GAMMA, and GAS-NET. Actual core bypass flow rate may vary considerably from the design value. Although the uncertainty of the bypass flow rate is not known, some sources have stated that the bypass flow rates in the Fort St. Vrain reactor were between 8 and 25 percent of the total reactor mass flow rate. If bypass flow rates are on the

During some of the design basis accidents in Modular High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors (MHTGRs) the main Heat Transport System (HTS) and the Shutdown Cooling System (SCS), are assumed to have failed. Decay heat is then removed by the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) only. If either forced flow cooling system becomes available during such a transient, its restart could significantly reduce the down-time. This paper uses the THATCH code to examine whether such restart, during a period of elevated core temperatures, can be accomplished within safe limits for fuel and metal component temperatures. If the reactor is scrammed, either system can apparently be restarted at any time, without exceeding any safe limits. However, under unscrammed conditions a restart of forced cooling can lead to recriticality, with fuel and metal temperatures significantly exceeding the safety limits

In recent years, the interest in small-scale bio-reactors has increased dramatically. To ensure homogeneous conditions within the complete area of perfused microfluidic bio-reactors, we develop a general design of a continually feed bio-reactor with uniform perfusion flow. This is achieved...... by introducing a specific type of perfusion inlet to the reaction area. The geometry of these inlets are found using the methods of topology optimization and shape optimization. The results are compared with two different analytic models, from which a general parametric description of the design is obtained...... and tested numerically. Such a parametric description will generally be beneficial for the design of a broad range of microfluidic bioreactors used for, e. g., cell culturing and analysis and in feeding bio-arrays....

As the world's demand for energy continues to increase burning of coal, oil and natural gases continue to increase which will eventually cause build-up in emission of greenhouse gasses. To overcome this challenge worldwide effort is in progress to develop an economical, more efficient and safer nuclear power. Higher thermal efficiency and enhances safety feature of Generation IV liquid cooled pebble bed reactor (LC-PBR) makes it viable option to replace existing nuclear reactor. However, this reactor is still in research stage and need detailed study before commercialization. In current work, hydrodynamics of LC-PBR is studied by using radioisotope based techniques, radioactive particle tracking and gamma-ray densitometry. Pebble flow profile and distribution are measured for different operating conditions. Optimal operating parameters are identified for operating LC-PBR based on hydrodynamics. (author)

Purpose: To provide a lmfbr type reactor wherein effusion of coolants through a loop contact portion is reduced even when fuel assemblies float up, and misloading of reactor core constituting elements is prevented thereby improving the reactor safety. Constitution: The reactor core constituents are secured in the reactor by utilizing the differential pressure between the high-pressure cooling chamber and low-pressure cooling chamber. A resistance port is formed at the upper part of a connecting pipe, and which is connect the low-pressure cooling chamber and the lower surface of the reactor core constituent. This resistance part is formed such that the internal sectional area of the connecting pipe is made larger stepwise toward the upper part, and the cylinder is formed larger so that it profiles the inner surface of the connecting pipe. (Aizawa, K.)

Highlights: → The 3D, CFD simulation of FLOFA accident in the generic IAEA 10 MW research reactor is carried out. → The different flow and heat transfer mechanisms involved in this process were elucidated. → The transition between these mechanisms during the course of FLOFA is discussed and investigated. → The interesting inversion process upon the transition from downward flow to upward flow is shown. → The temperature field and the friction coefficient during the whole transient process were shown. - Abstract: Three dimensional CFD full simulations of the fast loss of flow accident (FLOFA) of the IAEA 10 MW generic MTR research reactor are conducted. In this system the flow is initially downward. The transient scenario starts when the pump coasts down exponentially with a time constant of 1 s. As a result the temperatures of the heating element, the clad, and the coolant rise. When the flow reaches 85% of its nominal value the control rod system scrams and the power drops sharply resulting in the temperatures of the different components to drop. As the coolant flow continues to drop, the decay heat causes the temperatures to increase at a slower rate in the beginning. When the flow becomes laminar, the rate of temperature increase becomes larger and when the pumps completely stop a flow inversion occurs because of natural convection. The temperature will continue to rise at even higher rates until natural convection is established, that is when the temperatures settle off. The interesting 3D patterns of the flow during the inversion process are shown and investigated. The temperature history is also reported and is compared with those estimated by one-dimensional codes. Generally, very good agreement is achieved which provides confidence in the modeling approach.

Purpose: To facilitate the construction of a reactor containment building, whereby the inspections of the outer wall of a reactor container after the completion of the construction of the reactor building can be easily carried out. Constitution: In a reactor accommodated in a container encircled by a building wall, a space is provided between the container and the building wall encircling the container, and a metal wall is provided in the space so that it is fitted in the building wall in an attachable or detatchable manner. (Aizawa, K.)

After a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), the temperature of the fuel elements cladding increases dramatically due to the heat produced by the fission products decay, which is not adequately removed by the vapor contained in the core. In order to avoid this sharp rise in temperature and consequent melting of the core, the Emergency Core Cooling System is activated. This system initially injects borated water from accumulator tanks of the reactor through the inlet pipe (cold leg) and the outlet pipe (hot leg), or through the cold leg only, depending on the plant manufacturer. Some manufacturers add to this, direct injection into the upper plenum of the reactor. The penetration of water into the reactor core is a complex thermo fluid dynamic process because it involves the mixing of water with the vapor contained in the reactor, added to that generated in the contact of the water with the still hot surfaces in various geometries. In some critical locations, the vapor flowing in the opposite direction of the water can control the penetration of this into the core. This phenomenon is known as Countercurrent Flow Limitation (CCFL) or Flooding, and it is characterized by the control that a gas exerts in the liquid flow in the opposite direction. This work presents a proposal to use a CFD to simulate the CCFL phenomenon. Numerical computing can provide important information and data that is difficult or expensive to measure or test experimentally. Given the importance of computational science today, it can be considered a third and independent branch of science on an equal footing with the theoretical and experimental sciences. (author)

The multi-inlet vortex reactor (MIVR) has been developed for use in the FlashNanoprecipitation (FNP) process. The MIVR has four identical square inlets connected to a central cylindrical mixing chamber with one common outlet creating a highly turbulent swirling flow dominated by a strong vortex in the center. Efficient FNP requires rapid mixing within the MIVR. To investigate the mixing, instantaneous velocity and concentration fields were acquired using simultaneous stereoscopic particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence. The simultaneous velocity and concentration data were used to determine turbulent fluxes and spatial cross-correlations of velocity and concentration fluctuations. The measurements were performed for four inlet flow Reynolds numbers (3250, 4875, 6500, and 8125) and at three measurement planes within the reactor. A correlation between turbulent fluxes and vortex strength was found. For all Reynolds numbers, turbulent fluxes are maximum in the vortex dominated central region of the reactor and decay away from the vortex. Increasing Reynolds number increased turbulent fluxes and subsequently enhanced mixing. The mixing performance was confirmed by determining coefficients of concentration variance within the reactor.

The simultaneous flow of gas and liquid through a fixed bed of particles occurs in many unit operations of interest to the designers of space-based as well as terrestrial equipment. Examples include separation columns, gas-liquid reactors, humidification, drying, extraction, and leaching. These operations are critical to a wide variety of industries such as petroleum, pharmaceutical, mining, biological, and chemical. NASA recognizes that similar operations will need to be performed in space and on planetary bodies such as Mars if we are to achieve our goals of human exploration and the development of space. The goal of this research is to understand how to apply our current understanding of two-phase fluid flow through fixed-bed reactors to zero- or partial-gravity environments. Previous experiments by NASA have shown that reactors designed to work on Earth do not necessarily function in a similar manner in space. Two experiments, the Water Processor Assembly and the Volatile Removal Assembly have encountered difficulties in predicting and controlling the distribution of the phases (a crucial element in the operation of this type of reactor) as well as the overall pressure drop.

The effects of four process variables on the destruction efficiency of a flow-through supercritical water oxidation reactor were investigated. These process variables included: (1) reactor throughput (GPH), (2) concentration of the surrogate waste (% acetone), (3) maximum reactor tube-wall temperature (OC), and (4) applied stoichiometric oxygen. The analysis was conducted utilizing two-level factorial experiments, steepest ascent methods, and central composite designs. This experimental protocol assures efficient experimentation and allows for an empirical response surface model of the system to be developed. This experimentation identified a significant positive effect for stoichiometric oxygen applied and temperature variations between 400 to 500 degrees C. The increase in destruction efficiency due to stoichiometric 0 2 provides strong evidence that supercritical water oxidations are catalyzed by excess oxygen, and the strong temperature effect is a result of large increases in the kinetic rates for this temperature range. However, increasing temperature between 550 to 650 degrees C does not provide substantial increases in destruction efficiency. In addition, destruction efficiency is significantly unproved by increasing the Reynolds number and residence time. The destruction efficiency of the reactor is also dependent upon the initial concentration of surrogate waste. This concentration dependence may indicate first-order supercritical CO kinetics is inadequate for describing all waste types and reactor configurations. Alternatively, it may indicate reactant mixing, caused by local turbulence at the oxidation fronts of these higher concentration waste streams, results in higher destruction efficiencies

Organically capped CdSe nanocrystals were successfully produced by a continuous flowreactor in 13 g/h rate as isolated CdSe nanocrystal, using trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) both as the capping organic reagent and the high-temperature reaction solvent. Relatively high reaction temperature (e.g. 350 deg. C) was necessary for matured crystal growth. The quality of TOPO (i.e. impurity composition such like phosphonic acids) was also influential on the quality of the resulting CdSe nanocrystal. The continuous flowreactor was able to produce highly-luminescence, monodispersed CdSe nanocrystals, confirmed by transmission electron microscope observation. The production rate was stable at least 1 h to allow over 10 g production.

Biomass gasification and pyrolysis were studied in a laboratory-scale atmospheric pressure entrained flowreactor. Effects of operating parameters and biomass types on the syngas composition were investigated. In general, the carbon conversion during biomass gasification was higher than 90......% at the optimal conditions of 1400 °C with steam addition. The biomass carbon that was not converted to gas in the gasification process only appeared as soot particles in the syngas in all of the experiments, except for the two experiments performed at 1000 °C, where a very small amount of char was also left....... In comparison to pyrolysis, lower yields of soot, H2, and CO were produced during gasification. The yield of soot could be reduced by a longer residence time, larger feeder air flow, lower oxygen concentration, higher excess air ratio, higher steam/carbon ratio, and higher reactor temperature. Changes...

One of the proposed methods of removing the cesium, strontium, and transuranics from the radioactive waste storage tanks at Savannah River is the small-tank tetraphenylborate (TPB) precipitation process. A two-reactor-in-series (15-L working volume each) continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) system was designed, constructed, and installed in a hot cell to test the Savannah River process. The system also includes two cross-flow filtration systems to concentrate and wash the slurry produced in the process, which contains the bulk of radioactivity from the supernatant processed through the system. Installation, operational readiness reviews, and system preparation and testing were completed. The first test using the filtration systems, two CSTRs, and the slurry concentration system was conducted over a 61-h period with design removal of Cs, Sr, and U achieved. With the successful completion of Test 1a, the following tests, 1b and 1c, were not required.

The Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP) sodium pumps are currently being designed and the prototype unit is being fabricated. In the design of these large-scale pumps for elevated temperature Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) service, one major design consideration is the response of the critical parts to severe thermal transients. A detailed internal fluid flow distribution analysis has been performed using a computer code HAFMAT, which solves a network of fluid flow paths. The results of the analytical approach are then compared to the test data obtained on a half-scale pump model which was tested in water. The details are presented of pump internal hydraulic analysis, and test and evaluation of the half-scale model test results

Full Text Available In creating the reactor facility for the transport and energy module of a megawatt class the important task is to optimize a coolant flow path, i.e. to provide a moderate flow resistance and uniform distribution of a coolant. A kind of the chosen collector design to supply coolant significantly contributes to hydraulic losses, in particular, the porosity of the inlet lattice which may lead to uneven coolant rate at the inlet, flow pulsations, and hydraulic losses.For the first time in domestic practice the work examines an impact of the inlet lattices geometry on the averaged and pulsating flow both in a hemispherical collector and at the core inlet to the model paths of a reactor gas-cooled coolant, and gives advices on optimization of collector paths of the coolant flow.The paper presents the results of experiments carried out on the gas dynamic model of the coolant paths containing the inlet lattices of different porosity. It offers a numerical simulation of the flow in the two-parameter model using k-ε turbulence model and ANSYS CFX v14.0 software package and demonstrates a compliance of experimental data with numerical results.The obtained results show that the inlet lattice with a porosity of 0.25 allows relative leveling of the coolant flow directly at the core inlet, which for a uniform cross-sectional energy release reduces temperature of fuel elements. The considered options of design solutions allow you to select the inlet lattice structure, and the core, as well, according to the porosity parameter to solve the problem of reducing hydraulic losses in the coolant paths, reducing pulsating components of the flow in the core and length of the initial portion of flow stabilization. References

Full Text Available In setting up a reactor plant for the transportation-power module of the megawatt class an important task is to optimize the path of flow, i.e. providing moderate hydraulic resistance, uniform distribution of the coolant. Significant contribution to the hydraulic losses makes one selected design of the coolant supplies. It is, in particular, hemispherical or semi-elliptical shape of the supply reservoir, which is selected to reduce its mass, resulting in the formation of torusshaped vortex in the inlet manifold, that leads to uneven coolant velocity at the inlet into the core, the flow pulsations, hydraulic losses.To control the flow redistribution in the core according to the level of energy are used the switchgear - deflectors installed in a hemispherical reservoir supplying coolant to the fuel elements (FE of the core of gas-cooled reactor. This design solution has an effect on the structure of the flow, rate in the cooling duct, and the flow resistance of the collector.In this paper we present the results of experiments carried out on the gas dynamic model of coolant paths, deflectors, and core, comprising 55 fuel rod simulators. Numerical simulation of flow in two-parameter model, using the k-ε turbulence model, and the software package ANSYS CFX v14.0 is performed. The paper demonstrates that experimental results are in compliance with calculated ones.The results obtained suggest that the use of switchgear ensures a coolant flow balance directly at the core inlet, thereby providing temperature reduction of fuel rods with a uniform power release in the cross-section. Considered options to find constructive solutions for deflectors give an idea to solve the problem of reducing hydraulic losses in the coolant paths, to decrease pulsation components of flow in the core and length of initial section of flow stabilization.

A reactor core support arrangement for supporting, straining, and providing fluid flow to the core and periphery of a nuclear reactor during normal operation. A plurality of removable inlet modular units are contained within permanent liners in the lower supporting plate of the reactor vessel lower internals. During normal operation (1) each inlet modular unit directs main coolant flow to a plurality of core assemblies, the latter being removably supported in receptacles in the upper portion of the modular unit and (2) each inlet modular unit may direct bypass flow to a low pressure annular region of the reactor vessel. Each inlet modular unit may include special fluid seals interposed between mating surfaces of the inlet modular units and the core assemblies and between the inlet modular units and the liners, to minimize leakage and achieve an hydraulic balance. Utilizing the hydraulic balance, the modular units are held in the liners and the assemblies are held in the modular unit receptacles by their own respective weight. Included as part of the permanent liners below the horizontal support plate are generally hexagonal axial debris barriers. The axial debris barriers collectively form a bottom boundary of a secondary high pressure plenum, the upper boundary of which is the bottom surface of the horizontal support plate. Peripheral liners include radial debris barriers which collectively form a barrier against debris entry radially. During normal operation primary coolant inlet openings in the liner, below the axial debris barriers, pass a large amount of coolant into the inlet modular units, and secondary coolant inlet openings in the portion of the liners within the secondary plenum pass a small amount of coolant into the inlet modular units. The secondary coolant inlet openings also provide alternative coolant inlet flow paths in the unlikely event of blockage of the primary inlet openings. The primary inlet openings have characteristics which limit the

This paper describes numerical predictions of the two-dimensional flow and temperature fields of an internally-heated liquid in a typical CANDU reactor vessel. Turbulence momentum and energy transport are simulated using the k-epsilon model. Both steady-state and transient results are discussed. The finite control volume analogues of the conservation equations are solved using a modified version of the TEACH code

Experimental measurements of the decomposition of methyltrichlorosilane (MTS), a common silicon carbide precursor, in a high-temperature flowreactor are presented. The results indicate that methane and hydrogen chloride are major products of the decomposition. No chlorinated silane products were observed. Hydrogen carrier gas was found to increase the rate of MTS decomposition. The observations suggest a radical-chain mechanism for the decomposition. The implications for silicon carbide chemical vapor deposition are discussed.

Counter-current flow (CCF) of steam and water may occur at the upper core plate of a light water reactor (LWR) under reflood conditions. This paper describes a new model for CCF and flooding at the upper core plate of a LWR. The model assumes separate paths for the water draining through some open area of the upper core plate and the steam rising up through the remaining open area. Condensation of steam is not considered

This paper presents RELAP5 results of two hypothetical, low flow transients analyzed as part of the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor safety program. The reactor design features four independent coolant loops (three active and one in standby), each containing a main curculation pump (with battery powered pony motor), heat exchanger, an accumulator, and a check valve. The first transient assumes one of these pumps fails, and additionally, that the check valve in that loop remains stuck in the open position. This accident is considered extremely unlikely. Flow reverses in this loop, reducing the core flow because much of the coolant is diverted from the intact loops back through the failed loop. The second transient examines a 102-mm-diam instantaneous pipe break near the core inlet (the worst break location). A break is assumed to occur 90 s after a total loss-of-offsite power. Core flow reversal occurs because accumulator injection overpowers the diminishing pump flow. Safety margins are evaluated against four thermal limits: T{sub wall}=T{sub sat}, incipient boiling, onset of significant void, and critical heat flux. For the first transient, the results show that these limits are not exceeded (at a 95% non-exceedance probability level) if the pony motor battery lasts 30 minutes (the present design value). For the second transient, the results show that the closest approach of the fuel surface temperature to the local saturation temperature during core flow reversal is about 39{degrees}C. Therefore the fuel remains cool during this transient. Although this work is done specifically for the ANSR geometry and operating conditions, the general conclusions may be applicable to other highly subcooled reactor systems.

Full text: Full text: A partial flow blockage in an assembly of a liquid metal reactor could result in a cooling deficiency of the core. Since the flow blockage is occurred in the fuel assembly, it is difficult to directly detect the flow blockage in an assembly. However, the coolant temperature beyond the exit of the assemblies was fluctuated by temperature distortion in the core. Due to the change of the temperature profile at the exit of the partially blocked assembly, the characteristics of the temperature fluctuations in the upper plenum should be changed when an assembly was partially blocked. For examining the characteristics of the temperature fluctuations in the upper plenum, we have numerically analyzed the fluctuating temperature field in the upper plenum beyond the exit of the assemblies by using a LES turbulence model in CFX-5.7 code. After analyzing the characteristics of the temperature fluctuations in the upper plenum with various block conditions, we have studied their statistical characteristics like root mean square, standard deviation and skewness. Then, we have developed the neural network model for detecting a partial flow blockage of an assembly with the changes of root mean square, the standard deviation and the skewness of the fluctuation data as inputs and the size and the location of blockage conditions as outputs. Through validating the neural network model, we supposed that the developed neural network model should be a good alternative to detect the partial flow blockage in an assembly of a liquid metal reactor

increases. The numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data. The study improves the understanding of the underlying transport phenomena in these reactors and shows that the flow maldistribution in a catalytic plate reactor using a coated wire mesh has to be considered....

A prototype of an inductively heated flowreactor for gas kinetic studies is presented. The applicability of the system, which is based on a direct coupling between the reactor and the ion source of a mass spectrometer, is illustrated by investigations of a series of simple bond fission reactions...

Flow visualization systems is a tool used in science and industry for characterization of projects that operate with drainage. This work presents the design and construction of a flow visualization system for passive turbines used in advanced fast micro reactors. In the system were generated images where it is possible to see the supersonic and transonic flow through the turbine disks. A test bench was assembled to generate images of the interior of the turbine where the flow is supersonic, allowing the study of the behavior of the boundary layer between disks. It is necessary to characterize the boundary layer of this type of turbine because its operation occurs in the transfer of kinetic energy between the fluid and the disks. The images generated, as well as their analyzes are presented as a result of this work

On-load refuelling of Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors results in a long, slender, articulated fuel assembly being suspended within a fuel channel, up which flows the high density gaseous coolant. The gas flow in the fuel assembly-channel annulus can cause vibration of the fuel assembly. This paper reports on continuing studies of this phenomenon. In particular it outlines the latest findings on the excitation mechanism, flow instabilities in an annular diffuser; successful developments in finite element modelling of the fuel assembly vibration which now include flow effects and non linearities caused by fuel assembly-channel impact; and finally experimental demonstration of the beneficial effect of introducing friction dampers into the fuel assembly. (author)

The vibration behaviour of an assembly of seven mock-up fuel bundles of PEC reactor has been investigated. The assembly was excited by a parallel flow of water simulating sodium. The motion of the group (or of a single bundle in the group) has been measured in transverse sections detecting two orthogonal components of displacement. During the experiences the following parameters were varied: bundle foot and pads restraints, flow rate condition, coolant flow outlet conditions at the head of fuel bundles. Experimental data were processed in order to obtain: trajectories of three points of fuel bundle axis, power density spectra of measured vibration amplitudes, correlations between coolant flow rate and vibration amplitude R.M.S. (author)

TRIGA 2000 reactor in Bandung is planned to have the fuel element replaced, from cylindrical uranium and zirconium-hydride (U-ZrH) alloy to U3Si2-Al plate type of low enriched uranium of 19.75% with uranium density of 2.96 gU/cm3, while the reactor power is maintained at 2 MW. This change is planned to anticipate the discontinuity of TRIGA fuel element production. The selection of this plate-type fuel element is supported by the fact that such fuel type has been produced in Indonesia and used in MPR-30 safely since 2000. The core configuration of plate-type-fuelled TRIGA reactor requires coolant flow rate through each fuel element channel in order to meet its safety function. This paper is aimed to describe the results of coolant flow rate distribution in the TRIGA core that meets the safety function at normal operation condition, physical test, shutdown, and at initial event of loss of coolant flow due power supply interruption. The design analysis to determine coolant flow rate in this paper employs CAUDVAP and COOLODN computation code. The designed coolant flow rate that meets the safety criteria of departure from nucleate boiling ratio (DNBR), onset of flow instability ratio (OFIR), and ΔΤ onset of nucleate boiling (ONB), indicates that the minimum flow rate required to cool the plate-type fuelled TRIGA core at 2 MW is 80 kg/s. Therefore, it can be concluded that the operating limitation condition (OLC) for the minimum flow rate is 80 kg/s; the 72 kg/s is to cool the active core; while the minimum flow rate for coolant flow rate drop is limited to 68 kg/s with the coolant inlet temperature 35°C. This thermohydraulic design also provides cooling for 4 positions irradiation position (IP) utilization and 1 central irradiation position (CIP) with end fitting inner diameter (ID) of 10 mm and 20 mm, respectively.

FLODIS is a combined heat transfer and fluid flow analysis calculation written specifically for the core of the Fort St. Vrain reactor. It is a lumped-node representation of the 37 refueling regions in the active core. Heat conduction to the coolant and in the axial direction is represented; however, the effect of conduction between refueling regions is not included. The calculation uses the specified operating conditions for the reactor at power to determine appropriate loss coefficients for the variable orifices in each refueling region. Flow distributions following reactor trip and a reduction in coolant pressure and flow are determined assuming that the orifice coefficients remain constant. Iterative techniques are used to determine the distribution of coolant flow as a function of time during the transient. Results are presented for the evaluation of the transient for the Fort St. Vrain reactor following depressurization and cooling with two circulators operating at 8000 rpm.

Full Text Available For years, the Spanish population has been rapidly ageing, showing signs of atony and stagnation. Between 1996 and 2007, in a phase of economic growth, the entry of foreign immigrants drove a global increase in population. But after the economic recession migratory flows show negative net balances. Our objective is to explain and confirm the demographic regression suffered by Spain. We are also interested in showing how the recent and intense immigration process has failed to generate significant changes in natural demographic characteristics and trends. National censuses, published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE, are our main source of demographic data. The analysis of the most recent relevant scientific literature has allowed us to compare opinions and discuss results. The data confirm an uncertain and worrying future for the Spanish population.

A flowreactor for simulating the interaction in the troposphere is set forth. A first reactant mixed with a carrier gas is delivered from a pump and flows through a duct having louvers therein. The louvers straighten out the flow, reduce turbulence and provide laminar flow discharge from the duct. A second reactant delivered from a source through a pump is input into the flowing stream, the second reactant being diffused through a plurality of small diffusion tubes to avoid disturbing the laminar flow. The commingled first and second reactants in the carrier gas are then directed along an elongated duct where the walls are spaced away from the flow of reactants to avoid wall interference, disturbance or turbulence arising from the walls. A probe connected with a measuring device can be inserted through various sampling ports in the second duct to complete measurements of the first and second reactants and the product of their reaction at selected XYZ locations relative to the flowing system.

The phenomenon of thermal stratified flows occurs when two different layers of the same liquid at different temperatures flow separately in horizontal pipes without appreciable mixing. This phenomenon was not considered in the design stage of most of the operating nuclear power plants, but in last two decades it has become apparent due to the temperature monitoring of piping systems. The occurrence of temperature differences of about 200 deg C have been found in a narrow band around the hot and cold water interface in components under stratified flows. Loadings due to thermal stratification affected the integrity of safety related piping systems. This paper presents the results of a range of experiments performed to simulate one phase thermally stratified flows in geometry and flow condition representing a nuclear reactor steam generator injection nozzle. They have the objective of studying the flow configurations and understanding the evolution of the thermal stratification process. The driving parameter considered to characterize flow under stratified regime due to difference in specific masses is the Froude number. Different Froude numbers, from 0.018 to 0.22, were obtained in different testes by setting injection cold water flow rates and hot water initial temperatures as planned in the test matrix. Results are presented showing the influence of Froude number on the hot and cold water interface position, temperature gradients and striping phenomenon. (author)

Kinetics reaction is a knowledge about a rate of chemical reaction. The differential of the reaction rate can be determined from the reactant material or the formed material. The reaction mechanism of a reactor may include a stage of reaction occurring sequentially during the process of converting the reactants into products. In the determination of reaction kinetics, the order of reaction and the rate constant reaction must be recognized. This study was carried out using air as a stirrer as a medium in the vertical reactor for crystallization of struvite. Stirring is one of the important aspects in struvite crystallization process. Struvite crystals or magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrates (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) is commonly formed in reversible reactions and can be generated as an orthorhombic crystal. Air is selected as a stirrer on the existing flow pattern in the reactor determining the reaction kinetics of the crystal from the solution. The experimental study was conducted by mixing an equimolar solution of 0.03 M NH4OH, MgCl2 and H3PO4 with a ratio of 1: 1: 1. The crystallization process of the mixed solution was observed in an inside reactor at the flow rate ranges of 16-38 ml/min and the temperature of 30°C was selected in the study. The air inlet rate was kept constant at 0.25 liters/min. The pH solution was adjusted to be 8, 9 and 10 by dropping wisely of 1 N KOH solution. The crystallization kinetics was examined until the steady state of the reaction was reached. The precipitates were filtered and dried at a temperature for subsequent material characterization, including Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and XRD (X-Ray diffraction) method. The results show that higher flow rate leads to less mass of struvite.

Experiments have been conducted in the Hydraulics Laboratory, at the request of IPD`s Mechanical Development-A Operation, to determine the energy losses of various enlarged outlet fitting combinations. These experiments were conducted an steady state runs and allow the determination of the normal operating point (flow rate) of a reactor process channel under selected conditions of front header pressure and fuel charge. No attempt is made to make a mechanical or economic evaluation of the particular fitting combinations, although observations were noted which might bear on this evaluation. It is very important for the reader to bear in mind that changing outlet fittings will definitely affect the reactor tube power limits and outlet vater temperature limits. The size of the outlet fittings largely determines the present outlet temperature limits of the old reactors. The flow characteristics of these present fittings cause some degree of pressurization to suppress boiling on the fuel charge and also cause dual Panellit trip protection for certain flow changes and for power surges. Enlargement of the outlet fittings may actually reduce the allowable outlet coolant temperature limits. Since these effects cannot be determined on the apparatus used in these experiments, a complete discussion of this point is not included in this report. However, the seriousness of these effects should be known and carefully analyzed before a final selection of enlarged outlet fittings in made. This report will be one of a series. New reports in the series will be issued as data are obtained for other such outlet fitting combinations or for new concepts of outlet fitting assemblies such as the new nozzle being developed by C. E. Trantz for use on F-reactor stuck gunbarrel tubes.

Recent analyses have focused on the flow stability characteristics of a particle bed reactor (PBR). These laminar flow instabilities may exist in reactors with parallel paths and are caused by the heating of the gas at low Reynolds numbers. This phenomena can be described as follows: several parallel channels are connected at the plenum regions and are stabilized by some inlet temperature and pressure; a perturbation in one channel causes the temperature to rise and increases the gas viscosity and reduces the gas density; the pressure drop is fixed by the plenum regions, therefore, the mass flow rate in the channel would decrease; the decrease in flow reduces the ability to remove the energy added and the temperature increases; and finally, this process could continue until the fuel element fails. Several analyses based on different methods have derived similar curves to show that these instabilities may exist at low Reynolds numbers and high phi's ((Tfinal Tinitial)/Tinitial). These analyses need to be experimentally verified.

Exchange flow rates through breaches of a vacuum vessel in a fusion reactor under the LOVA (Loss of VAcuum event) conditions were measured quantitatively by using a preliminary LOVA apparatus and exchange flow patterns over the breach were visualized qualitatively by smoke. Velocity distributions in the exchange flows were predicted from the observed flow patterns by using the correlation method in the flow visualization procedures. Mean velocities calculated from the predicted velocity distributions at the outside of the breach were in good agreement with the LOVA experimental results when the exchange flow velocities were low. It was found that the present flow visualization and the image processing system might be an useful procedure to evaluate the exchange flow rates. (author)

A down-flow hanging sponge reactor, constructed by connecting three identical units in series, was applied to the treatment of artificial wastewater containing phenol and ammonia under high salinity conditions (10.9 g-Cl(-)/L). The theoretical hydraulic retention time (HRT) of each unit was 4 h (total HRT = 12 h). To enhance denitrification by effluent recirculation, the effluent recirculation ratio was increased in increments ranging from 0.0 to 2.0. The concentration of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), NO2-N, and NO3-N in the final effluent as a proportion of the TAN in the influent was determined to calculate the unrecovered, or denitrification, proportion. The denitrification proportion of the reactor was equivalent to 19.1 ± 14.1% with no effluent recirculation; however, this was increased to 58.6 ± 6.2% when the effluent recirculation ratio was increased to 1.5. Further increasing the effluent recirculation ratio to 2.0 resulted in a decrease in the denitrification proportion to 50.9 ± 9.3%. Activity assays of nitrification and denitrification, as well as 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, revealed that denitrification occurred primarily in the upper sections of the reactor, while nitrification increased in the lower sections of the reactor. Gene sequence analysis revealed that denitrification by Azoarcus-like species using phenol as an electron donor was dominant.

Full text of publication follows: An advanced light water reactor concept has been continuously studied in KAERI with an output in the range of about 60 to 300 MW th . The reactor is purposed to be utilized as an energy source for seawater desalination as well as small scale power generation. In order to achieve the intrinsic safety and enhanced operational flexibility, some specific design considerations such as low power density and soluble boron free operation have been incorporated in the multiple-parallel-channel type reactor core. The low power density can be achieved by adopting fuel assemblies with tightly spaced non-square lattice rod array. The allowable core operating region should be primarily limited by the two design parameters; the critical heat flux(CHF) and the flow instabilities in the multiple parallel fuel assembly channels. The characteristics of CHF and flow instability have been investigated through experimental and analytical works. The CHF prediction model was established on the basis of experimental data obtained from 19-rod test bundles. The CHF experiments have been conducted for various test bundles with different heated lengths, uniform and non-uniform radial and axial power distributions, water and Freon as the working fluids, and different number of unheated rods. The parametric ranges of CHF experiments covers the pressure from 6 to 18 MPa, the mass flux from 150 to 2000 kg/m 2 /s, and the inlet subcooling from 10 to 120 deg. C. The flow instabilities due to density wave oscillations were investigated by conducting experiments with two parallel channels under the pressure ranges from 6 to 16 MPa. The parametric behavior of flow instability was examined for the test sections with different lengths of adiabatic risers, different axial power shapes, different inlet restrictions, and different channel cross sections. The stability boundary was experimentally determined by increasing channel inlet temperature or reducing the flow rate

The author discusses the enquete report 1980. He makes an inventory for a political and sociological interpretation of the interim report between meaningful innovation and political insignificance as well as intellectual stagnation. The report is considered as an indicator for the transformation of the energy-political arena in the Federal Republic of Germany over the last years. ''Stagnation'' or ''innovation'' of the argumentation patterns in the report of the enquete commission relate to the question whether the analyses in that document are rather a brake or a motor to a shift of political perspectives in energy policy. A progress can be seen in the report regarding political debate about energy-options in the semi-official political spectrum of the Federal Republic of Germany, in as far as differring options of energy-political development are being acknowledged for the first time. At the same time, debate inside the commission directs the attention to issues of institutional policy in the energy sector. Considering the fights within the commission before the report was agreed on, it seems doubtful if its proposals for compromise will prove a sound political basis. The tensions inside the commission are just a first sign of the power conflicts due above all if the recommendations for energy conservation are intransigently carried out. (orig./HSCH) [de

Vacuum flows in various configurations, which are related to fusion reactors are simulated using linear kinetic theory and the direct simulation Monte Carlo method (DSMC), in the whole range of the Knudsen number. In the case of flows through channels of infinite length, even for large pressure differences, the flow is linear (fully developed) and linearized kinetic theory has been applied with considerable success. In the case of flows through channels of finite length, the flow is strongly non-equilibrium and has to be tackled by the DSMC method. In the present work we present a comparative study between experimental and computational results for the case of circular channels of finite length. Experimental data and corresponding computational results are provided for the conductance of channels with different lengths and several downstream to upstream pressure ratios, covering a wide range of the Knudsen number. In addition, a brief review of some recent work related to the case of long channels is presented and general remarks related to the overall flow conditions and characteristics for flows through channels of various lengths and cross sections are stated.

Full Text Available A home-built microreactor system for light-mediated biphasic gas/liquid reactions was assembled from simple commercial components. This paper describes in full detail the nature and function of the required building elements, the assembly of parts, and the tuning and interdependencies of the most important reactor and reaction parameters. Unlike many commercial thin-film and microchannel reactors, the described set-up operates residence times of up to 30 min which cover the typical rates of many organic reactions. The tubular microreactor was successfully applied to the photooxygenation of hydrocarbons (Schenck ene reaction. Major emphasis was laid on the realization of a constant and highly reproducible gas/liquid slug flow and the effective illumination by an appropriate light source. The optimized set of conditions enabled the shortening of reaction times by more than 99% with equal chemoselectivities. The modular home-made flowreactor can serve as a prototype model for the continuous operation of various other reactions at light/liquid/gas interfaces in student, research, and industrial laboratories.

The paper discusses isotopic effects at carbon oxidation in low temperature non-equilibrium plasma at constant magnetic field. There is described routine of experiment and defined optimal parameters ensuring maximum enrichment factor at given electrophysical, gas-dynamic, and thermodymanical parameters. It has been demonstrated that at high-frequency generator capacity of 4 kW, supply frequency of 27 MHz and field density of 44 mT the concentration of paramagnetic heavy nuclei 13C in gaseous phase increases up to 1.78 % compared to 1.11 % for natural concentration. Authors explain isotopic effect decrease during plasmachemical separation induced by mixing gas flows enriched in different isotopes at the lack of product quench. With the help of modeling the motion of gas flows inside the plasma-chemical reactor based on numerical calculation of Navier-Stokes equation authors determine zones of gas mixing and cooling speed. To increase isotopic effects and proportion of 13C in gaseous phase it has been proposed to use quench in the form of Laval nozzle of refractory steel. The article represents results on calculation of optimal Laval Nozzle parameters for plasma-chemical reactor of chosen geometry of. There are also given dependences of quench time of products on pressure at the diffuser output and on critical section diameter. Authors determine the location of quench inside the plasma-chemical reactor in the paper.

The twelve principles of Green Chemistry presented by Anastas and Warner provide the philosophical basis and identify potential areas to increase the level of greenness in designing or implementing chemical reactions in the pharmaceutical industry. With these efforts in mind, the...

Desulfurization capacity of Finnish limestones was studied with the aid of an isothermal flowreactor at the Laboratory of Fuel and Process Technology of the Technical Research Center of Finland over the years 1985-1989. Construction and operation of this isothermal flowreactor are presented in the article. Reaction temperature, residence time, and flue gas composition can be regulated independently of each other. The flue gas is formed by burning LPG (mixture of propane and propene). Other gases can be mixed with the flue gases to get the desired gas composition. The hot flue gas is led into a vertical reactor. To compensate heat losses the reactor tube is kept at the desired temperature with the aid of an electric resistance heater installed around the tube. Flow in the reactor is laminar. Limestone powder of 1-100 μm in particle size can be fed by a powder feeder at a rate of 0.2-5 g/min into the reactor. Reacted solid matter is collected with an axially movable, water-cooled, and nitrogen-diluted sampling probe in the reactor tube. It is very important to feed the fine powdered limestone as separate particles into the reactor and to sample the solid product so that detrimental reactions in the sampling system are minimized. The residence time of solid matter in the reactor ranges 0.1-1 s, depending on the gas amount flowing in the reactor tube, and on the position of the sampling probe in the tube. The sample is collected in a cyclone or a filter at the end of the probe. Calcium and sulfur compounds, specific surface area, and pore and particle size distributions are analyzed for the sample.

Legionella transmission through the atmosphere is unusual, but not unprecedented. A scientific paper published in 2006 reports a surge in Pas-de-Calais, France, in which 86 people have been infected by bacteria released by a cooling tower more than 6 km away [3]. Similarly, in Norway, in 2005, there was another case where contamination spread beyond 10 km, although more concentrated within a radius of 1 km from an industrial unit [2]. An unprecedented large Legionella outbreak occurred in November 2014 nearby Lisbon, Portugal. As of 7 November 2014, 375 individuals become hill and 12 died infected by the Legionella pneumophila bacteria, contracted by inhalation of steam droplets of contaminated water (aerosols). These droplets are so small that can carry the bacteria directly to the lungs, depositing it in the alveoli. One way of studying the propagation of legionella episodes is through the use of aerosol dispersion models. However, such approaches often require detailed 3D high resolution wind data over the region, which isn't often available for long periods. The likely impact of wind on legionella transmission can also be understood based on the analysis of special types of flow conditions such as stagnation, recirculation and ventilation [1, 4]. The Allwine and Whiteman (AW) approach constitutes a straightforward method to assess the assimilative and dispersal capacities of different airsheds [1,4], as it only requires hourly wind components. Thus, it has the advantage of not needing surface and upper air meteorological observations and a previous knowledge of the atmospheric transport and dispersion conditions. The objective of this study is to analyze if the legionella outbreak event which took place in November 2014 had extreme potential recirculation and/or stagnation characteristics. In order to accomplish the proposed objective, the AW approach was applied for a hindcast time-series covering the affected area (1989-2007) and then for an independent

Full Text Available Continuous flowreactors (CFRs are an emerging technology that offer several advantages over traditional batch synthesis methods, including more efficient mixing schemes, rapid heat transfer, and increased user safety. Of particular interest to the specialty chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries is the significantly improved reliability and product reproducibility over time. CFR reproducibility can be attributed to the reactors achieving and maintaining a steady state once all physical and chemical conditions have stabilized. This work describes the implementation of a smart CFR with univariate physical and multivariate chemical monitoring that allows for rapid determination of steady state, requiring less than one minute. Additionally, the use of process analytical technology further enabled a significant reduction in the time and cost associated with offline validation methods. The technology implemented for this study is chemistry and hardware agnostic, making this approach a viable means of optimizing the conditions of any CFR.

A method to simulate the reaction between gaseous K-species and solid additives, at suspension fired conditions has been developed, using an entrained flowreactor (EFR). A water slurry containing solid additives (kaolin or coal fly ash) and KCl, is injected into the EFR and the solid products...... of additives, rose when increasing the molar ratio of K/(Al+Si) in the reactants. A change of the reaction temperature, from 1100 °C to 1450 °C, did not significantly influence the extent of the reaction, which is in contradiction to the trend observed in previous fixed-bed reactor studies. The method using...... the EFR, developed in this study, will be applied for further studies on the reaction of different additives and alkali species....

In the fuel reprocessing industry, an un-baffled magnetic rod-stirred multiphase reactor was developed for a precipitation operation. The flow generated in such a reactor is complex and the rotating agitator at the bottom of tank creates a vortex on the liquid surface. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling is developed based on a Large Eddy Scale (LES) approach for turbulence effect simulation. The numerical simulations are performed in 3-dimensions using the Trio-U code developed at the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (Cea). The vortex study is based on an interface tracking method and the rotating magnetic rod is taken into account through a free IBC immersed boundary. The hydrodynamic modelling is in good agreement with Nagata's theory and will be validated from experimental data obtained by laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements. (authors)

The use of CO 2 or N 2 (heavy gas) instead of helium during natural circulation leads to improved performance in both High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGR) and in Pebble Bed Reactors (PBR). For instance, the coolant temperature rise corresponding to a coolant pressure level and a rate of afterheat removal could be only 18% with CO 2 as compared to He, for laminar flow in HTGR; this value would be 40% in PBR. There is less difference between HTGR and PBR for turbulent flows; CO 2 is found to be always better than N 2 . These types of results derived from relationships between coolant properties, coolant flow, temperature rise, pressure, afterheat levels and core geometry, are obtained for HTGR and PBR for various flow regimes, both within the core and in the primary loop

Full Text Available The leachate is a highly liquid polluting, considering, besides high concentrations of ammonia nitrogen. Treating leachate is a very difficult task once its composition is very complex. A king of treatment that is being developed is the stripping of ammonia where this chemical will be removed from the leachate by mass transfer of the liquid phase to gas. Therefore, this paper addressed to study the ammonia stripping process in leachates liquids using plug-flowreactors in series. In order to accomplish the experimental part four plugflow reactors in series were build, with an average height of 50 centimeters, without forced air supplier and without leachate pH adjustment. The leachate sample used was from the metropolitan landfill of Joao Pessoa city, which was collected and transported to the EXTRABES laboratory and made the physicochemical characterization. The experimental monitoring system consisted of four distinct phases, with applied superficial loads of 450, 500, 600 and 700 kg NH4+ ha-1 day-1, hydraulic detention time equal to 65, 60, 50 and 38 days, and it was obtained an average efficiency of ammonia nitrogen removal around 96.1%, 99.7%, 99.5% and 98.5% respectively. It was found that the removal efficiency of NH3 was satisfactory in all phases, however, the kinetic study showed that the higher the surface charge applied to the reactors, the higher the rate constant for removal of NH3 stripping process. Thus we can conclude that the process of stripping ammonia from landfill leachate may be done in plug-flowreactors in series, with an average depth of 50 cm, due to provide high removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen, with low operating costs.

Full text of publication follows: Consideration is being given to two-component gas-liquid flows with inhomogeneous gas content. The inhomogeneity of gas content over flow space can be caused by local mixing of gas and liquid, gas injection, gas-containing liquid jet penetration into the bulk of liquid without gas. The paper presents the computational results obtained using the direct non-stationary calculation with the TURBO-FLOW computer code. The results refer to flows near the liquid level, flows in downcomer gaps, collectors, elements with varying geometry (jet outlet into space, flow turn) for the pool-type reactors and experimental models. The following processes have been shown and discussed: formation of new liquid levels, entrainment of gas from the level, change in density composition of gas, flow stratification, effect of gas emergence rate and density convection on flow pattern. At gas phase transfer by liquid, two phenomena governing this transfer proceed: gas slip in liquid and density convection of non-uniformly aerated liquid. In horizontal flows, a vertical stratification of gas content always occurs. If the flow changes its direction to an upward one (collector at core inlet), the gas content maximum would be observed in channels nearest to the inlet. At the liquid level, the processes of gas separation from liquid and gas entrainment take place. The separation is a self-sustained process due to circulations arising near the level. The rate of gas entrainment is proportional to the rate of overflow and inversely proportional to the height of liquid level. At the downcomer region in case of its expansion, there occurs the instability of flow resulting in formation of liquid level and falling jet. The level is lower the more the gas content at inlet. The accumulation of gas occurs at sharp turns, encumbered regions (tube bundle), at all regions with upper (ceiling) constraints of flow. The flow instability being often observed in gas-liquid flows

Purpose: To make it possible to correctly measure the flow rate and temperatures of the coolants flowing through fuel assemblies. Constitution: One or more holes are formed at the side surface of the guide tube of a control rod driving mechanism thereby to reduce the flow path resistance within the guide tube of the control rod driving mechanism and to prevent the outlet coolant of the control rod guide tube from flowing into the guide tube of the mechanism as it is and also from flowing into ambient rectifying lattice guide tubes, so that the quantities and temperatures of the coolants flowing through respective fuel assemblies can be measured correctly. (Kamimura, M.)

Series of numerical experiments have been carried out on a calandria based reactor for optimizing the design to increase the overall heat transfer efficiency by using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) technique. Fluid flow and heat transfer inside the calandria is governed by many geometric and flow parameters like orientation of inlet, inlet mass flow rate, fuel channel configuration (in-line, staggered, etc.,), location of inlet and outlet, etc.,. It was well established that heat transfer is more wherever forced convection dominates but for geometries like calandria it is very difficult to achieve forced convection flow everywhere, intern it strongly depends on the direction of inlet jet. In the present paper the initial design was optimized with respect to inlet jet angle, the optimized design has been numerically tested for different heat load mass flow conditions. To further increase the heat removal capacity of a calandria, further numerical studies has been carried out for different inlet geometry. In all the analysis same overall geometry size and same number of tubes has been considered. The work gives good insight into the fluid flow and heat transfer inside the calandria and offer a guideline for optimizing the design and/or capacity enhancement of a present design.

Scaling of EOIL systems to higher powers requires extension of electric discharge powers into the kW range and beyond with high efficiency and singlet oxygen yield. We have previously demonstrated a high-power microwave discharge approach capable of generating singlet oxygen yields of ~25% at ~50 torr pressure and 1 kW power. This paper describes the implementation of this method in a supersonic flowreactor designed for systematic investigations of the scaling of gain and lasing with power and flow conditions. The 2450 MHz microwave discharge, 1 to 5 kW, is confined near the flow axis by a swirl flow. The discharge effluent, containing active species including O II(a1Δ g, b1Σ g +), O( 3P), and O 3, passes through a 2-D flow duct equipped with a supersonic nozzle and cavity. I2 is injected upstream of the supersonic nozzle. The apparatus is water-cooled, and is modular to permit a variety of inlet, nozzle, and optical configurations. A comprehensive suite of optical emission and absorption diagnostics is used to monitor the absolute concentrations of O II(a), O II(b), O( 3P), O 3, I II, I(2P 3/2), I(2P 1/2), small-signal gain, and temperature in both the subsonic and supersonic flow streams. We discuss initial measurements of singlet oxygen and I* excitation kinetics at 1 kW power.

Highlights: ► Effective bioremoval of Cr(III) using bacterial biofilms. ► Simplified bioreactor was fabricated for the biofilm development and Cr(III) removal. ► Economically feasible substrate like coarse sand and pebbles were used. - Abstract: Present study deals with the applicability of bacterial biofilms for the bioremoval of trivalent chromium from tannery effluents. A continuous flowreactor was designed for the development of biofilms on different substrates like glass beads, pebbles and coarse sand. The parameters for the continuous flowreactor were 20 ml/min flow rate at 30 °C, pH4. Biofilm biomass on the substrates was in the following sequence: coarse sand > pebbles > glass beads (4.8 × 10 7 , 4.5 × 10 7 and 3.5 × 10 5 CFU/cm 2 ), which was confirmed by CLSM. Biofilms developed using consortium of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus on coarse sand had more surface area and was able to remove 98% of Cr(III), SEM-EDX proved 92.60% Cr(III) adsorption on biofilms supported by coarse sand. Utilization of Bacillus biofilms for effective bioremoval of Cr(III) from chrome tanning effluent could be a better option for tannery industry, especially during post chrome tanning operation.

Plasma-facing components (PFC’s) made from solid materials may not be able to withstand the large heat and particle fluxes that will be produced within next-generation fusion reactors. To address the shortcomings of solid PFC’s, a variety of liquid-metal (LM) PFC concepts have been proposed. Many of the suggested LM-PFC designs rely on electromagnetic restraint (Lorentz force) to keep free-surface, liquid-metal flows adhered to the interior surfaces of a fusion reactor. However, there is very little, if any, experimental data demonstrating that free-surface, LM-PFC’s can actually be electromagnetically controlled. Therefore, in this study, electrical currents were injected into a free-surface liquid-metal that was flowing through a uniform magnetic field. The resultant Lorentz force generated within the liquid-metal affected the velocity and depth of the flow in a controllable manner that closely matched theoretical predictions. These results show the promise of electromagnetic control for LM-PFC’s and suggest that electromagnetic control could be further developed to adjust liquid-metal nozzle output, prevent splashing within a tokamak, and alter heat transfer properties for a wide-range of liquid-metal systems.

Highlights: • Simulated mixing of hot upward and cold downward flows in a chimney of a reactor. • Experiments in chimney model (2:9 scale) at Reynolds number (Re)—1.5 to 4.5 × 10{sup 5}. • Hot upward flow comes out of the chimney when bypass flow ratio (R) is zero. • Increase in ratio (R) reduces jet height, vortex spread height and temperature front height. • Effects of Re, chimney height and temperature differential are not significant. - Abstract: Experiments were conducted to study the turbulent mixing of hot upward flow and cold downward flow inside a scaled down model of chimney structure of a pool type nuclear research reactor. Open pool type nuclear reactors often use this type of chimney structures to prevent mixing of radioactive core outlet water directly into the reactor pool so that radiation field at the reactor pool top can be kept to a lower limit. The chimney structure is designed to facilitate guiding of the radioactive water towards the two outlet nozzles of the chimney and simultaneously allows drawing water from the reactor pool through the chimney top opening. The present work aims at studying flow mixing behaviour of hot and cold water inside a 2/9th scaled down model of the chimney structure experimentally. The ratio between the cold downward flow and the hot upward flow is varied between 0 and 0.15 to predict the extent of suppression of the hot upward flow within the chimney region for various bypass flow ratios. The Reynolds number of the hot upward flow considered in the experiment is about 1.5 × 10{sup 5} which corresponds to a flow rate of about 500 l min{sup −1}. The upward jet height and the temperature distribution were predicted from the experiment. It was observed that increase in bypass flow ratio reduces the upward jet height of hot water. Experiments were also carried out by increasing the flow rate to 1000 and 1500 l min{sup −1} corresponding to Reynolds numbers of 3 × 10{sup 5} and 4.5 × 10{sup 5

The method is described of calculating fully developed longitudinal steady-state turbulent flow of an incompressible fluid through an infinite bundle of parallel smooth rods, based on the finite element method and one-equation turbulence model. Theoretical calculation results are compared with experimental results. (author). 5 figs., 3 refs

Results of experimental investigations of the local hydrodynamic and mass-exchange characteristics of a coolant flowing through the cells in the characteristic zones of a fuel assembly of a KLT-40S reactor plant downstream of a plate-type spacer grid by the method of diffusion of a gas tracer in the coolant flow with measurement of its velocity by a five-channel pneumometric probe are presented. An analysis of the concentration distribution of the tracer in the coolant flow downstream of a plate-type spacer grid in the fuel assembly of the KLT-40S reactor plant and its velocity field made it possible to obtain a detailed pattern of this flow and to determine its main mechanisms and features. Results of measurement of the hydraulic-resistance coefficient of a plate-type spacer grid depending on the Reynolds number are presented. On the basis of the experimental data obtained, recommendations for improvement of the method of calculating the flow rate of a coolant in the cells of the fissile core of a KLT-40S reactor were developed. The results of investigations of the local hydrodynamic and mass-exchange characteristics of the coolant flow in the fuel assembly of the KLT-40S reactor plant were accepted for estimating the thermal and technical reliability of the fissile cores of KLT-40S reactors and were included in the database for verification of computational hydrodynamics programs (CFD codes).

A high throughput, multi-well (96) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform, based on a continuous flow (CF) mode of operation, was developed. Each CFPCR device was confined to a footprint of 8 × 8 mm 2 , matching the footprint of a well on a standard micro-titer plate. While several CFPCR devices have been demonstrated, this is the first example of a high-throughput multi-well continuous flow thermal reactor configuration. Verification of the feasibility of the multi-well CFPCR device was carried out at each stage of development from manufacturing to demonstrating sample amplification. The multi-well CFPCR devices were fabricated by micro-replication in polymers, polycarbonate to accommodate the peak temperatures during thermal cycling in this case, using double-sided hot embossing. One side of the substrate contained the thermal reactors and the opposite side was patterned with structures to enhance thermal isolation of the closely packed constant temperature zones. A 99 bp target from a λ-DNA template was successfully amplified in a prototype multi-well CFPCR device with a total reaction time as low as ∼5 min at a flow velocity of 3 mm s −1 (15.3 s cycle −1 ) and a relatively low amplification efficiency compared to a bench-top thermal cycler for a 20-cycle device; reducing the flow velocity to 1 mm s −1 (46.2 s cycle −1 ) gave a seven-fold improvement in amplification efficiency. Amplification efficiencies increased at all flow velocities for 25-cycle devices with the same configuration.

The main objective of this project was to identify and characterize the conditions under which abnormal heat transfer phenomena would occur in a Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) with a prismatic core. High pressure/high temperature experiments have been conducted to obtain data that could be used for validation of VHTR design and safety analysis codes. The focus of these experiments was on the generation of benchmark data for design and off-design heat transfer for forced, mixed and natural circulation in a VHTR core. In particular, a flow laminarization phenomenon was intensely investigated since it could give rise to hot spots in the VHTR core.

The gas and liquid radioactive tracer response curves obtained in an industrial bubble column reactor of height to diameter ratio of 10 are analyzed and the suitability of the axial dispersion model for interpretation of the results is discussed. The relationship between the tracer concentration distribution and measured detector response of the soluble gas tracer (Ar-41) is possibly dominated by the dissolved gas. The one dimensional axial dispersion model cannot match all the experimental observations well and the flow pattern of the undissolved gas cannot be determined with certainty.

A local ultrasonic density (LUD) detector has been developed by EG and G Idaho, Inc., at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) reactor vessel and core two-phase flow density measurements. The principle of operating the sensor is the change in propagation time of a torsional ultrasonic wave in a metal transmission line as a function of the density of the surrounding media. A theoretical physics model is presented which represents the total propagation time as a function of the sensor modulus of elasticity and polar moment of inertia

Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Flow amperometric enzymatic biosensor was constructed. •The biosensor is based on a reactor of a novel material – porous silver solid amalgam. •Tubular amalgam detector was used for determination of decrease of O{sub 2} concentration. •Covalent bonds amalgam−thiol−enzyme contributed to the sensor long-term stability. •LOD of glucose was 0.01 mmol L{sup −1} with RSD = 1.3% (n = 11). -- Abstract: A flow amperometric enzymatic biosensor for the determination of glucose was constructed. The biosensor consists of a flowreactor based on porous silver solid amalgam (AgSA) and a flow tubular detector based on compact AgSA. The preparation of the sensor and the determination of glucose occurred in three steps. First, a self-assembled monolayer of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) was formed at the porous surface of the reactor. Second, enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx) was covalently immobilized at MUA-layer using N-ethyl-N′-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carboimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide chemistry. Finally, a decrease of oxygen concentration (directly proportional to the concentration of glucose) during enzymatic reaction was amperometrically measured on the tubular detector under flow injection conditions. The following parameters of glucose determination were optimized with respect to amperometric response: composition of the mobile phase, its concentration, the potential of detection and the flow rate. The calibration curve of glucose was linear in the concentration range of 0.02–0.80 mmol L{sup −1} with detection limit of 0.01 mmol L{sup −1}. The content of glucose in the sample of honey was determined as 35.5 ± 1.0 mass % (number of the repeated measurements n = 7; standard deviation SD = 1.2%; relative standard deviation RSD = 3.2%) which corresponds well with the declared values. The tested biosensor proved good long-term stability (77% of the current response of glucose was retained after 35 days)

Full Text Available In this article valuable contributions by Lasègue, Freud and Abraham are discussed, as they are all indispensible to the understanding of orality disorders in melancholia. Although none of the above authors used the exact term "orality disorders," their understandings of both hysteria and melancholia are important in the debate surrounding the clinical treatment of these difficulties. Sadness is a common denominator for the authors, but contributions on acedia, the "noonday demon" mentioned by Agamben, are also important. Acedia is defined as stagnation, a desperate lack of vigor when faced with a wearying and demanding situation. Those who suffer from chronic acedia feel great inertia and are unable to envision a future. They see their creativity wane away, especially due to the painful isolation caused by what might be called anguished sadness - a denial of sadness through manic action.

reactive gas in a given reaction mixture. We have developed a tube-in-tube reactor device consisting of a pair of concentric capillaries in which pressurized gas permeates through an inner Teflon AF-2400 tube and reacts with dissolved substrate within a liquid phase that flows within a second gas impermeable tube. This Account examines our efforts toward the development of a simple, unified methodology for the processing of gaseous reagents in flow by way of development of a tube-in-tube reactor device and applications to key C-C, C-N, and C-O bond forming and hydrogenation reactions. We further describe the application to multistep reactions using solid-supported reagents and extend the technology to processes utilizing multiple gas reagents. A key feature of our work is the development of computer-aided imaging techniques to allow automated in-line monitoring of gas concentration and stoichiometry in real time. We anticipate that this Account will illustrate the convenience and benefits of membrane tube-in-tube reactor technology to improve and concomitantly broaden the scope of gas/liquid/solid reactions in organic synthesis.

Chemical looping hydrogen generation (CLHG) can produce pure hydrogen with inherent separation of CO{sub 2} from fossils fuel. The process involves a metal oxide, as an oxygen carrier, such as iron oxide. The CLHG system consists of three reactors: a fuel reactor (FR), a steam reactor (SR) and an air reactor (AR). In the FR, the fuel gases react with iron oxides (hematite Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, magnetite Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}, wuestite FeO), generating reduced iron oxides (FeO or even Fe), and with full conversion of gaseous fuels, pure CO{sub 2} can be obtained after cooling the flue gas from the fuel reactor; in the SR, FeO and Fe reacts with steam to generate magnetite (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) and H{sub 2}, the latter representing the final target product of the process; in the AR, the magnetite is oxidized back to hematite which is used in another cycle. A cold flow model of three-fluidized bed for CLHG corresponding to 50 KW hot units has been built. A major novelty of this facility is the compact fuel reactor, which integrates a bubble and a fast fluidized bed to avoid the incomplete conversion of the fuel gas caused by the thermodynamics equilibrium. In order to study the pressure characteristics and the solids concentration of the system, especially in the fuel reactor, the gas velocity of three reactors, gas flow of L-type value, total solids inventory (TSI) and the secondary air of fuel reactor were varied. Results show that the pressure and the solids concentration are strongly influenced by the fluidizing-gas velocity of three reactors. Moreover, the entrainment of the upper part of fuel reactor increases as the total solids inventory increases, and the operating range of the FR can be changed by introducing secondary air or increasing the total solids inventory.

Core bypass flow has been one of key issues in the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) design for securing core thermal margins and achieving target temperatures at the core exit. The bypass flow in a prismatic VHTR core occurs through the control element holes and the radial and axial gaps between the graphite blocks for manufacturing and refueling tolerances. These gaps vary with the core life cycles because of the irradiation swelling/shrinkage characteristic of the graphite blocks such as fuel and reflector blocks, which are main components of a core's structure. Thus, the core bypass flow occurs in a complicated multidimensional way. The accurate prediction of this bypass flow and counter-measures to minimize it are thus of major importance in assuring core thermal margins and securing higher core efficiency. Even with this importance, there has not been much effort in quantifying and accurately modeling the effect of the core bypass flow. The main objectives of this project were to generate experimental data for validating the software to be used to calculate the bypass flow in a prismatic VHTR core, validate thermofluid analysis tools and their model improvements, and identify and assess measures for reducing the bypass flow. To achieve these objectives, tasks were defined to (1) design and construct experiments to generate validation data for software analysis tools, (2) determine the experimental conditions and define the measurement requirements and techniques, (3) generate and analyze the experimental data, (4) validate and improve the thermofluid analysis tools, and (5) identify measures to control the bypass flow and assess its performance in the experiment.

The applications of bubble column reactor (BCR) are very important as multiphase reactors in process industry. In biodiesel production, one of the reactors that are used is BCR. The advantages of BCR are low operating cost and maintenance due to the compactness and no moving parts. It is important to understand the nature of hydrodynamics and operational parameters to characterize their operation, including gas superficial velocity and bubble rise velocity to make the design and scale-up process. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to evaluate the performance of BCR at lower cost compared to the experimental setup for biodiesel production. In this work, a commercial CFD software, FLUENT 14.0 was used for modeling of gas-liquid flow in a BCR for biodiesel production. Multiphase simulations were performed using an Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model. In this study, the simulation was conducted by using three different temperature, which are 523 K, 543 K and 563 K. The CFD result predicts the turbulent kinetic energy, gas hold-up and the liquid velocity were fairly good, although the results seem to suggest that further improvement on the interface exchange models and possibly further refine the two-fluid modeling approaches are necessary especially for the liquid velocity and turbulent kinetic energy.

Summary The inner surface of a metallic tube (i.d. 0.5 mm) was coated with a palladium (Pd)-based thin metallic layer by flow electroless plating. Simultaneous plating of Pd and silver (Ag) from their electroless-plating solution produced a mixed distributed bimetallic layer. Preferential acid leaching of Ag from the Pd–Ag layer produced a porous Pd surface. Hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol was examined in the presence of formic acid simply by passing the reaction solution through the catalytic tubular reactors. p-Aminophenol was the sole product of hydrogenation. No side reaction occurred. Reaction conversion with respect to p-nitrophenol was dependent on the catalyst layer type, the temperature, pH, amount of formic acid, and the residence time. A porous and oxidized Pd (PdO) surface gave the best reaction conversion among the catalytic reactors examined. p-Nitrophenol was converted quantitatively to p-aminophenol within 15 s of residence time in the porous PdO reactor at 40 °C. Evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) was observed during the reaction, although hydrogen (H2) was not found in the gas phase. Dehydrogenation of formic acid did not occur to any practical degree in the absence of p-nitrophenol. Consequently, the nitro group was reduced via hydrogen transfer from formic acid to p-nitrophenol and not by hydrogen generated by dehydrogenation of formic acid. PMID:23843908

Full Text Available The inner surface of a metallic tube (i.d. 0.5 mm was coated with a palladium (Pd-based thin metallic layer by flow electroless plating. Simultaneous plating of Pd and silver (Ag from their electroless-plating solution produced a mixed distributed bimetallic layer. Preferential acid leaching of Ag from the Pd–Ag layer produced a porous Pd surface. Hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol was examined in the presence of formic acid simply by passing the reaction solution through the catalytic tubular reactors. p-Aminophenol was the sole product of hydrogenation. No side reaction occurred. Reaction conversion with respect to p-nitrophenol was dependent on the catalyst layer type, the temperature, pH, amount of formic acid, and the residence time. A porous and oxidized Pd (PdO surface gave the best reaction conversion among the catalytic reactors examined. p-Nitrophenol was converted quantitatively to p-aminophenol within 15 s of residence time in the porous PdO reactor at 40 °C. Evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2 was observed during the reaction, although hydrogen (H2 was not found in the gas phase. Dehydrogenation of formic acid did not occur to any practical degree in the absence of p-nitrophenol. Consequently, the nitro group was reduced via hydrogen transfer from formic acid to p-nitrophenol and not by hydrogen generated by dehydrogenation of formic acid.

1. This original study firstly defines the problem of the adjustment of the coolant flow rate in a reactor channel as a function of the corresponding heat transfer equations and of the local and temporal neutron flux. The necessity of such an adjustment is pointed out and the modifying parameters are studied. An adjustment study using the envelope of the possible flux curves is developed. A short study on the technology and the economical advantage of this adjustment is presented. Some measurements, made on G-1 and G-2, show the precision one can obtain from adjustment apparatus itself as well as from the complete reactor adjustment system. 2. Evolution of nuclear properties of fuel in an heterogeneous thermal reactor. In the first port of this paper, the phenomena of fuel evolution have been mainly pointed out. Now a bibliographical study more qualitatively than quantitatively has been done. This survey specifies the present theories and relates to a real effective cross section and also yields to the bases of such a nuclear calculation. (author) [fr

A low-temperature (25 degrees C) anaerobic eight-compartment (PF01 to PF08) cascade reactor simulating a plug-flowreactor (PFR) treating pig manure was monitored for a year. The bioreactor was fed at an average loading rate of 2.4 +/- 0.2 g of total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) per litre of reactor per day for a theoretical hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 67 +/- 7 d. An average of 79% of TCOD was removed from pig manure (converted into biogas and in sediments), whereas specific methane yields ranging from 397 to 482 NL CH4 kg(-1) VS (148.6 to 171.4 NL CH4 kg(-1) TCOD) were obtained. After 150 d, fluctuating performances of the process were observed, associated with solids accumulation in the upstream compartments, preventing the complete anaerobic digestion of swine manure in the compartments PF01 to PF04. Low-temperature anaerobic PFR represents an interesting alternative for the treatment of pig manure and recovery of green energy. Further investigations regarding a modified design, with better accumulating solids management, are needed to optimize the performance of this low-temperature PFR treating pig manure.

The following study analyzes the performance of a continuous flow biodiesel reactor/separator. The reactor achieves high conversion of vegetable oil triglycerides to biodiesel while simultaneously separating co-product glycerol. The influence of the flow direction, relative to the gravity vector, on the reactor performance was measured. Reactor performance was assessed by both the conversion of vegetable oil triglycerides to biodiesel and the separation efficiency of removing the co-product glycerol. At slightly elevated temperatures of 40-50 degrees C, an overall feed of 1.2 L/min, a 6:1 M ratio of methanol to vegetable oil triglycerides, and a 1-1.3 wt.% potassium hydroxide catalyst loading, the reactor converted more than 96% of the pretreated waste vegetable oil to biodiesel. The reactor also separated 36-95% of the glycerol that was produced. Tilting the reactor away from the vertical direction produced a large increase in glycerol separation efficiency and only a small decrease in conversion. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study describes an analysis of experiments carried out in the WIW-300 installation located in the Institute of Atomic Energy (Swierk, Poland). The flow, simulated in the annular gap of test section, was similar to the flow in Maria reactor fuel channel. Experimental character of the work lead to the conclusions related to the physical nature of the hydrodynamic phenomena investigated as well as to the practical aspects of future research. A hypothesis defining a cause of pressure changes was formulated and specific problems related to the mathematical model were defined. The analysis shows that hydrodynamic phenomena studies are of basic significance for the prediction of burnout effects and that heat exchange is very often determined by local phenomena. All described observations are the base for further research on thermodynamic aspects of investigated phenomena. (author)

An experimental simulation study on the transition from pressurized to boiling operation of a low-temperature, natural circulation nuclear heating reactor (5 MW) developed by INET of Tsinghua University is presented. The experiment was performed on the test loop (HRTL-5), which simulates the geometry and system design of the 5 MW reactor. The manifestation of different kinds of two-phase flow instabilities, namely geyser instability, flashing instability and low-steam quality density wave instability on the transition from pressurized to boiling operation is described. The mechanism of flashing instability, which has never been studied well on this field, is especially interpreted. It is suggested that the start-up process, from initial condition to boiling operation condition, should consist of three steps: (1) increasing of initial pressure by means of a noncondensable gas (N 2 ), which is a very effective method to eliminate geyser instability and flashing instability at lower pressure. (2)start-up of the reactor at this pressurized condition with a constant heat flux under the limited value of q = 0.15 MW·m -2 , which controls the exit temperature of the heated section below the one of net vapor generation, the low steam quality density wave oscillation can be avoided. (3) transition to a lower pressure, boiling operation. The method of transition with low-heat flux and low-inlet subcooling is proposed: at pressurized operation condition, by reducing the heat flux to its lowest level, releasing the noncondensable gas and increasing the heat flux gradually (dq/dt -2 ·min -1 ), during which the low-steam quality density wave oscillation can be prevented from occurring, then the boiling operation condition can be achieved through adjusting the heat flux and inlet subcooling to their designed value. A stable transition from pressurized to boiling operation of the 5 MW reactor is achieved by careful selection of the thermohydraulic parameters. (7 refs., 7 figs., 1

Full Text Available Over the last years a new type of tubular plug flowreactor, the segmented flow tubular reactor (SFTR, has proven its versatility and robustness through the water-based synthesis of precipitates as varied as CaCO3, BaTiO3, Mn(1−xNixC2O4·2H2O, YBa oxalates, copper oxalate, ZnS, ZnO, iron oxides, and TiO2 produced with a high powder quality (phase composition, particle size, and shape and high reproducibility. The SFTR has been developed to overcome the classical problems of powder production scale-up from batch processes, which are mainly linked with mass and heat transfer. Recently, the SFTR concept has been further developed and applied for the synthesis of metals, metal oxides, and salts in form of nano- or micro-particles in organic solvents. This has been done by increasing the working temperature and modifying the particle carrying solvent. In this paper we summarize the experimental results for four materials prepared according to the polyol synthesis route combined with the SFTR. CeO2, Ni, Ag, and Ca3(PO42 nanoparticles (NPs can be obtained with a production rate of about 1–10 g per h. The production was carried out for several hours with constant product quality. These findings further corroborate the reliability and versatility of the SFTR for high throughput powder production.

We present a conceptual design, scaling calculations, and development path for a pulsed fusion reactor based on a flow-stabilized Z-pinch. Experiments performed on the ZaP and ZaP-HD devices have largely demonstrated the basic physics of sheared-flow stabilization at pinch currents up to 100 kA. Initial experiments on the FuZE device, a high-power upgrade of ZaP, have achieved 20 usec of stability at pinch current 100-200 kA and pinch diameter few mm for a pinch length of 50 cm. Scaling calculations based on a quasi-steady-state power balance show that extending stable duration to 100 usec at a pinch current of 1.5 MA and pinch length of 50 cm, results in a reactor plant Q 5. Future performance milestones are proposed for pinch currents of: 300 kA, where Te and Ti are calculated to exceed 1-2 keV; 700 kA, where DT fusion power would be expected to exceed pinch input power; and 1 MA, where fusion energy per pulse exceeds input energy per pulse. This work funded by USDOE ARPA-E and performed under the auspices of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-734770.

Over the last years a new type of tubular plug flowreactor, the segmented flow tubular reactor (SFTR), has proven its versatility and robustness through the water-based synthesis of precipitates as varied as CaCO3, BaTiO3, Mn(1-x)NixC2O4·2H2O, YBa oxalates, copper oxalate, ZnS, ZnO, iron oxides, and TiO2 produced with a high powder quality (phase composition, particle size, and shape) and high reproducibility. The SFTR has been developed to overcome the classical problems of powder production scale-up from batch processes, which are mainly linked with mass and heat transfer. Recently, the SFTR concept has been further developed and applied for the synthesis of metals, metal oxides, and salts in form of nano- or micro-particles in organic solvents. This has been done by increasing the working temperature and modifying the particle carrying solvent. In this paper we summarize the experimental results for four materials prepared according to the polyol synthesis route combined with the SFTR. CeO2, Ni, Ag, and Ca3(PO4)2 nanoparticles (NPs) can be obtained with a production rate of about 1-10 g per h. The production was carried out for several hours with constant product quality. These findings further corroborate the reliability and versatility of the SFTR for high throughput powder production.

To solve the problems of ammonia inhibition and discharging difficulty in continuous dry fermentation of pig manure, under the experimental conditions of temperature of (25 +/- 2) degrees C and organic loading rate (TS) of 4.44 g x (L x d) (-1), a lab-scale up plug-flow type anaerobic reactor (UPAR) was setup to investigate biogas production, ammonia inhibition, effluent liquidity, and the feasibility of continuous dry fermentation of pig manure using up plug-flow type anaerobic reactor. The experiment was operated for 160 days using the pig manure with four different TS mass fractions (20%, 25%, 30%, 35%) as feeding. Results showed that the feeding TS mass fraction exerted a significant influence on the dry fermentation of pig manure; the stable volumetric biogas production rates of four different feeding TS mass fractions were 2.40, 1.73, 0.89, and 0.62 L x (L x d)(-1), respectively; the biogas producing efficiencies of the reactors with feeding TS mass fractions of 20%, 25% and 30% were obviously superior to that with feeding TS of 35%. With feeding TS mass fraction increased from 20% to 35%, obvious inhibition to biogas producing occurred when concentration of ammonia nitrogen reached more than 2 300 mg x L(-1). When the feeding TS mass fraction was 35%, the concentration of ammonia nitrogen could accumulate to 3 800 mg x L(-1) but biogas production rate decreased 74.1% of that with feeding TS of 20%. Additionally, while the feeding TS mass fraction was 35%, the effluent TS mass fraction achieved 17.1%, and the velocity of effluent was less than 0.002 m x s(-1) the effluent of UPAR could not be smoothly discharged.

This work simulates the flow obstruction of a jet pump in one of the recirculation loops of a nuclear power plant with a reactor of type BWR at 100% of operating power, in order to analyze the behavior of the total flow of the refrigerant passing through the reactor core, the total flow in each recirculation loop of the reactor, together with the 10 jet pumps of each loop. The behavior of the power and the reactivity insertion due to the change of the refrigerant flow pattern is also analyzed. The simulation was carried out using the RELAP/SCDAPSIM version 3.5 code, using a reactor model with 10 jet pumps in each recirculation loop and a core consisting of 6 radial zones and 25 axial zones. The scenario postulates the flow obstruction in a jet pump in a recirculation loop A when the reactor operates at 100% rated power, causing a change in the total flow of refrigerant in the reactor core, leading to a decrease in power. Once the reactor conditions are established to its new power, the operator tries to recover the nominal power using the flow control valve of the recirculation loop A, opening stepwise as a strategy to safely recover the reactor power. In this analysis is assumed that the intention of the nuclear plant operator is to maintain the operation of the reactor during the established cycle. (Author)

A design of SMART reactor has been developed, of which the primary system is composed of four internal circulation pumps, a core of 57 fuel assemblies, eight cassettes of steam generators, flow mixing head assemblies, and other internal structures. Since primary design features are very different from conventional reactors, the characteristics of flow and pressure distribution are expected to be different accordingly. In order to analyze the thermal margin and hydraulic design characteristics of SMART reactor, design quantification tests for flow and pressure distribution with a preservation of flow geometry are necessary. In the present study, the design feature of the test facility in order to investigate flow and pressure distribution, named “SCOP” is described. In order to preserve the flow distribution characteristics, the SCOP is linearly reduced with a scaling ratio of 1/5. The core flow rate of each fuel assembly is measured by a venturi meter attached in the lower part of the core simulator having a similarity of pressure drop for nominally scaled flow conditions. All the 57 core simulators and 8 S/G simulators are precisely calibrated in advance of assembling in test facilities. The major parameters in tests are pressures, differential pressures, and core flow distribution. (author)

The heat-transfer characteristics of flowing and stationary packed-particle beds have recently become of interest in connection with conceptual designs of fusion reactor blankets. A detailed literature survey has shown that the processes taking place in such beds are not fully understood despite their widespread use in the chemical industry and other engineering disciplines for more than five decades. In this study, two experimental investigations were pursued. In the first, a heat-transfer loop was constructed through which glass microspheres were allowed to flow by rgravity at controlled rates through an electrically heated stainless steel tubular test section. In the second, an annular packed bed was constructed in which heat was applied through the outer wall by electric heating of a stainless steel tube. Cooling occurred at the inner wall of the annular bed by flowing air through the central tube. A second air stream was allowed to flow through the voids of the packed bed. An error-minimization technique was utilized in order to obtain the two-dimensional one-parameter effective conductivity for the bed by comparing the experimental and theoretically predicted temperature profiles. Experiments were conducted for various modified Reynolds numbers less than ten.

Hydrogen dissolution and hydrogenotrophic denitrification performance were investigated in a lab-scale packed bed reactor (PBR) by varying the hydrogen flow rate and hydraulic retention time (HRT). The denitrification performance was enhanced by increasing the hydrogen flow rate and HRT as a result of high dissolved hydrogen concentration (0.39mg/L) and utilization efficiencies (79%). In this study, the hydrogen-to-water flow rate ratio (Q(g)/Q(w)) was found to be a new operating factor representing the two parameters of hydrogen flow rate and HRT. Hydrogen dissolution and denitrification efficiency were nonlinearly and linearly correlated with the Q(g)/Q(w), respectively. Based on its excellent linear correlation with denitrification efficiency, Q(g)/Q(w) should be greater than 2.3 to meet the WHO's guideline of nitrate nitrogen for drinking water. This study demonstrates that Q(g)/Q(w) is a simple and robust factor to optimize hydrogen-sparged bioreactors for hydrogenotrophic denitrification. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The development of the TRAC computer code for analysis of LOCAs in light-water reactors involves the use of a three-dimensional (r-theta-z), two-fluid hydrodynamics model to describe the two-phase flow of steam and water through the reactor vessel. One of the major problems involved in interpreting results from this code is the presentation of three-dimensional flow patterns. The purpose of the report is to present a partial solution to this data display problem. A first version of a code which produces three-dimensional movies of flow in the reactor vessel has been written and debugged. This code (POST) is used as a postprocessor in conjunction with a stand alone three-dimensional two-phase hydrodynamics code (CYLTF) which is a test bed for the three-dimensional algorithms to be used in TRAC

In a reactor cooled by forced circulation the gas bubbles carried along with the coolant flow are separated before entering the reactor core or forced away into the external zones. For this purpose the coolant is radially guided into a plenum below the core and deflected to a tangential direction by means of flow guide elements. The flow runs spirally downwards. On the bubbles, during their dwell time in this channel, the buoyant force and a force towards the axis of symmetry of the tank are exerted. The major part of the coolant is directed into a radial direction by means of a guiding apparatus in the lower section of the channel and guided through a chimney in the plenum to the center of the reactor core. This inner chimney is enclosed by an outer chimney for the core edge zones through which coolant with a small share of bubbles is taken away. (RW) [de

The concentration of dissolved oxygen in water, in equilibrium with atmospheric air (ca. 8 ppm at 20{sup o}C), defines the limits of all practical oxidizing processes for removing pollutants in photocatalytic reactors. To solve this limitation, an alternative approach to that of a continuously aerated reactor is the use of a recirculating system with aeration performed after every cycle at the reactor entering stream. As defined by the nature of a single recirculating step (the need of a reactor operation at a rather low concentration range), this procedure results in a very low photonic efficiency (thus requiring a large photon collecting area and consequently increasing the capital cost). The design engineer will have to resort to a series of several reactors with recirculation. This solution may then lead to a very high Photonic Efficiency for the entire process (i.e., a reduced light harvesting area) at the price of an increase in the required capital cost (due to the larger number of reactors). This paper provides a very simple analysis and analytical expressions that can be used to estimate, for a desired degree of degradation, a trade-off solution between a high number of reactors and a very large surface area to collect the solar photons. (author)

The types of errors in CFD simulation can be divided into the two main categories: numerical errors and model errors. Turbulence model is one of the important sources for model errors. In this study, in order to assess the prediction performance of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based two equations turbulence models for the analysis of flow distribution inside a 1/5 scale-down APR+, the simulation was conducted with the commercial CFD software, ANSYS CFX V. 14. In this study, in order to assess the prediction performance of turbulence models for the analysis of flow distribution inside a 1/5 scale-down APR+, the simulation was conducted with the commercial CFD software, ANSYS CFX V. 14. Both standard k-ε model and SST model predicted the similar flow pattern inside reactor. Therefore it was concluded that the prediction performance of both turbulence models was nearly same. Complex thermal-hydraulic characteristics exist inside reactor because the reactor internals consist of fuel assembly, control rod assembly, and the internal structures. Either flow distribution test for the scale-down reactor model or computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation have been conducted to understand these complex thermal-hydraulic features inside reactor

The technology which models and measures the behavior of bubble in liquid sodium is very important to insure the safety of the liquid metal reactor. In this research, we designed/ manufactured each part and loop of experimental facility for sodium two phase flow, and applied a few possible methods, measured characteristic of two phase flow such as bubbly flow. A air-water loop similar to sodium loop on each measuring condition was designed/manufactured. This air-water loop was utilized to acquire many informations which were necessary in designing the two phase flow of sodium and manufacturing experimental facility. Before the manufacture of a electromagnetic flow meter for sodium, the experiment using each electromagnetic flow mete was developed and the air-water loop was performed to understand flow characteristics. Experiments for observing the signal characteristics of flow were performed by flowing two phase mixture into the electromagnetic flow mete. From these experiments, the electromagnetic flow meter was designed and constructed by virtual electrode, its signal processing circuit and micro electro magnet. It was developed to be applicable to low conductivity fluid very successfully. By this experiment with the electromagnetic flow meter, we observed that the flow signal was very different according to void fraction in two phase flow and that probability density function which was made by statistical signal treatment is also different according to flow patterns. From this result, we confirmed that the electromagnetic flow meter could be used to understand the parameters of two phase flow of sodium. By this study, the experimental facility for two phase flow of sodium was constricted. Also the new electromagnetic flow meter was designed/manufactured, and experimental apparatus for two phase flow of air-water. Finally, this study will be a basic tool for measurement of two phase flow of sodium. As the fundamental technique for the applications of sodium at

The production of catalytic converters generates large amounts of waste water containing Pd 2+ , Rh 3+ and Nd 3+ ions. The electrochemical treatment of these solutions offers an economic and effective alternative to recover the precious metals in comparison with other traditional metal recovery technologies. The separation of palladium from this mixture of metal ions by catalytic deposition was carried out using a rotating cylinder electrode reactor (RCER) and a parallel plate reactor (FM01-LC) with the same cathode area (64 cm 2 ) and electrolyte volume (300 cm 3 ). The study was carried out at mean linear flow velocities of 1.27 -1 (120 e /v -1 (7390 2+ ions in the parallel plate electrode reactor was 35% while the recovery of 97% of Pd 2+ in the RCER was 62%. The volumetric energy consumption during the electrolysis was 0.56 kW h m -3 and 2.1 kW h m -3 for the RCER and the FM01-LC reactors, respectively. Using a three-dimensional stainless steel electrode in the FM01-LC laboratory reactor, 99% of palladium ions were recovered after 30 min of electrolysis while in the RCER, 120 min were necessary.

Mixing, thermal-stratification, and mass transport phenomena in large pools or enclosures play major roles for the safety of reactor systems. Depending on the fidelity requirement and computational resources, various modeling methods, from the 0-D perfect mixing model to 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, are available. Each is associated with its own advantages and shortcomings. It is very desirable to develop an advanced and efficient thermal mixing and stratification modeling capability embedded in a modern system analysis code to improve the accuracy of reactor safety analyses and to reduce modeling uncertainties. An advanced system analysis tool, SAM, is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory for advanced non-LWR reactor safety analysis. While SAM is being developed as a system-level modeling and simulation tool, a reduced-order three-dimensional module is under development to model the multi-dimensional flow and thermal mixing and stratification in large enclosures of reactor systems. This paper provides an overview of the three-dimensional finite element flow model in SAM, including the governing equations, stabilization scheme, and solution methods. Additionally, several verification and validation tests are presented, including lid-driven cavity flow, natural convection inside a cavity, laminar flow in a channel of parallel plates. Based on the comparisons with the analytical solutions and experimental results, it is demonstrated that the developed 3-D fluid model can perform very well for a wide range of flow problems.

By performing Eulerian area averaging over a channel area of the local continuity, momentum, and energy equations for single phase turbulent flow and assuming each phase in two-phase flows to be continuum but coupled by the appropriate 'jump' conditions at the interface, the corresponding axial macroscopic balances for two-fluid model in a pin bundle are obtained. To determine the crossflow, a momentum equation in transverse (to the gap between the pins) direction is obtained for each phase by carrying out Eulerian segment averaging of the local momentum equation, where the segment is taken parallel to the gap. By considering the mixture as a whole, a diffusion model based on drift-flux velocity is formulated. In the axial direction it is expressed in terms of three mixture conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy with one additional continuity equation for the vapor phase. For the determination of crossflow, transverse momentum equation for a mixture is obtained. It is considered that the previous formulation of the two-phase flow based on the 'slip' flow model and the integral subchannel balances using finite control volumes is inadequate in that the model is heuristic and, a priori, assumes the order of magnitude of the terms, also the model is incomplete and incorrect when applied to two-phase mixtures in thermal non-equilibrium such as during accidental depressurization of a water cooled reactor. The governing equations presented are shown to be a very formal and sound physical basis and are indispensable for physically correct methods of analyzing two-phase flows in a pin bundle. (author)

Pebble flow simulation plays an important role in the steady state and transient analysis of thermal-hydraulics and neutronics for Pebble Bed Reactors (PBR). The Discrete Element Method (DEM) and the modified Molecular Dynamics (MD) method are widely used to simulate the pebble motion to obtain the distribution of pebble concentration, velocity, and maximum contact stress. Although DEM and MD present high accuracy in the pebble flow simulation, they are quite computationally expensive due to the large quantity of pebbles to be simulated in a typical PBR and the ubiquitous contacts and collisions between neighboring pebbles that need to be detected frequently in the simulation, which greatly restricted their applicability for large scale PBR designs such as PBMR400. Since the contact detection accounts for more than 60% of the overall CPU time in the pebble flow simulation, the acceleration of the contact detection can greatly enhance the overall efficiency. In the present work, based on the design features of PBRs, two contact detection algorithms, the basic cell search algorithm and the bounding box search algorithm are investigated and applied to pebble contact detection. The influence from the PBR system size, core geometry and the searching cell size on the contact detection efficiency is presented. Our results suggest that for present PBR applications, the bounding box algorithm is less sensitive to the aforementioned effects and has superior performance in pebble contact detection compared with basic cell search algorithm. (authors)

Full Text Available For thermo-fluid and safety analyses of a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR, intensive efforts are in progress in the developments of the GAMMA+ code of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI and the AGREE code of the University of Michigan (U of M. One of the important requirements for GAMMA+ and AGREE is an accurate modeling capability of a bypass flow in a prismatic core. Recently, a series of air experiments were performed at Seoul National University (SNU in order to understand bypass flow behavior and generate an experimental database for the validation of computer codes. The main objective of the present work is to validate the GAMMA+ and AGREE codes using the experimental data published by SNU. The numerical results of the two codes were compared with the measured data. A good agreement was found between the calculations and the measurement. It was concluded that GAMMA+ and AGREE can reliably simulate the bypass flow behavior in a prismatic core.

Full Text Available Understanding of turbulent flow in the reactor coolant pump (RCP is a premise of the optimal design of the RCP. Flow structures in the RCP, in view of the specially devised spherical casing, are more complicated than those associated with conventional pumps. Hitherto, knowledge of the flow characteristics of the RCP has been far from sufficient. Research into the nonintrusive measurement of the internal flow of the RCP has rarely been reported. In the present study, flow measurement using particle image velocimetry is implemented to reveal flow features of the RCP model. Velocity and vorticity distributions in the diffuser and spherical casing are obtained. The results illuminate the complexity of the flows in the RCP. Near the lower end of the discharge nozzle, three-dimensional swirling flows and flow separation are evident. In the diffuser, the imparity of the velocity profile with respect to different axial cross sections is verified, and the velocity increases gradually from the shroud to the hub. In the casing, velocity distribution is nonuniform over the circumferential direction. Vortices shed consistently from the diffuser blade trailing edge. The experimental results lend sound support for the optimal design of the RCP and provide validation of relevant numerical algorithms. Keywords: Diffuser, Flow Structures, Particle Image Velocimetry, Reactor Coolant Pump, Spherical Casing, Velocity Distribution

Instrumentation tubes in pressurized nuclear reactors have experienced wear due to excessive flow-induced vibrations. Experiments to identify the predominant flow excitation mechanism at a particular plant, and to develop a sleeve design to remedy the wear problem are reported. An instrumented flow visualization model enabled simulation of a wide range of individual or combined reactor core flow, cross flow and thimble flow conditions. The instrumentation scheme adopted for these experiments used proximity displacement transducers and a force transducer to measure respectively tube motion and contact/impact forces at the wear region. Extensive testing of the original, in-plant configuration identified the normal core flow as the primary source of excitation. Shielding the In-Core-Instrumentation thimble tube from the normal core flow curtailed vibration amplitudes; however, thimble flow excitation then became more pronounced. Various outlet nozzle configurations were investigated. An internal cavity combined with radial outlet slots became the optimum solution for the problem. The paper presents typical test data in the form of orbital tube motion, spectrum analysis and time history collages. The effectiveness of shielding the instrumentation tube from the flow is demonstrated. (author)

We present a conceptual design, scaling calculations, and a development path for a pulsed fusion reactor based on the shear-flow-stabilized Z-pinch device. Experiments performed on the ZaP device have demonstrated stable operation for 40 us at 150 kA total discharge current (with 100 kA in the pinch) for pinches that are 1cm in diameter and 100 cm long. Scaling calculations show that achieving stabilization for a pulse of 100 usec, for discharge current 1.5 MA, in a shortened pinch 50 cm, results in a pinch diameter of 200 um and a reactor plant Q 5 for reasonable assumptions of the various system efficiencies. We propose several key intermediate performance levels in order to justify further development. These include achieving operation at pinch currents of 300 kA, where Te and Ti are calculated to exceed 1 keV, 700 kA where fusion power exceeds pinch input power, and 1 MA where fusion energy per pulse exceeds input energy per pulse. This work funded by USDOE ARPAe ALPHA Program and performed under the auspices of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-697801.

The antibiotics sulfamethoxazole (SMTX) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) are commonly used in human and veterinary medicine, which explains their occurrence in wastewater. Anaerobic reactors are low-cost, simple and suitable technology to wastewater treatment, but there is a lack of studies related to the removal efficiency of antibiotics. To overcome this knowledge gap, the objective of this study was to evaluate the removal kinetics of SMTX and CIP using a horizontal-flow anaerobic immobilized biomass reactor. Two different concentrations were evaluated, for SMTX 20 and 40 μg L(-1); for CIP 2.0 and 5.0 μg L(-1). The affluent and effluent analysis was carried out in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with the sample preparation procedure using an off-line solid-phase extraction. This method was developed, validated and successfully applied for monitoring the affluent and effluent samples. The removal efficiency found for both antibiotics at the two concentrations studied was 97%. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) exhibited kinetic constants that were different from that observed for the antibiotics, indicating the absence of co-metabolism. Also, though the antibiotic concentration was increased, there was no inhibitory effect in the removal of COD and antibiotics.

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the thermal and fluid dynamics among the fuel spheres and the cooling fluid, appearing in the core of pebble bed reactor (PBR-Peeble Bed Reactor) using the CFD-Computational Fluid Dynamics CFX 13.0. The paper presents the two analysis results. In the first phase it was considered two heat transfer models for the fuel spheres. In a model it was established volumetric load generation, with thermal conduction for both the fuel and coating. The other model prescribes a heat flux at the sphere surfaces. In this analysis, it was proceed two simulation in the two sphere arrangements, one considering the spheres in contact, and the other with 2 mm spacing between them. At the second analysis it was evaluated the sphere arrangement influence on the thermal and fluid dynamic behavior of the bed. The four simulations present differences in the flow and in the surface and maximum temperature profiles of the coating.(author)

Flow-Induced Vibration for Light Water Reactors (FIV for LWRs) is a four-year program designed to improve the FIV performance of light water reactors through the development of design criteria, analytical models for predicting behavior of components, general scaling laws to improve the accuracy of reduced-scale tests, and the identification of high FIV risk areas. The program is managed by the General Electric Nuclear Power Systems Engineering Department and has three major contributors: General Electric Nuclear Power Systems Engineering Department (NPSED), General Electric Corporate Research and Development (CR and D) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The program commenced December 1, 1976, but was suspended on September 30, 1978, due to a shift in Department of Energy (DOE) priorities away from LWR productivity/availability. It was reinitiated as of August 1, 1979. A second program suspension occurred from March 29, 1980 through May 16, 1980, due to funding limits. This progress report summarizes the accomplishments achieved during the period from Janury 1980 to June 1980

The present thesis deals with three comparatively different topics in neutron physics research. These topics are as follows: construction and experimental investigation of a new detector, capable of measuring the neutron current, and investigation of the possibility to use it for the localisation of a neutron source in a simple experimental arrangement; execution of neutron transmission measurements based on a stationary neutron generator, and the study of their suitability for determining the volume porosity of geological samples; study of the possibility for improving the accuracy of water flow measurements based on the pulsed neutron activation technique. The first subject of this thesis concerns the measurement of the neutron current by a newly constructed detector. The motivation for this work stems from a recent suggestion that the performance of core monitoring methods could be enhanced if, in addition to the scalar neutron flux, also the neutron current was measured. To this end, a current detector was based on a scintillator mounted on a fibre and a Cd layer on one side of the detector. The measurements of the 2-D neutron current were performed in an experimental system by using this detector. The efficiency of the detector in reactor diagnostics was illustrated by demonstrating that the position of a neutron source can be determined by measuring the scalar neutron flux and the neutron current in one spatial point. The results of measurement and calculation show both the suitability of the detector construction for the measurement of the neutron current vector and the use of the current in diagnostics and monitoring. The second subject of this thesis concerns fast neutron transmission measurements, based on a stationary neutron generator, for determining the volume porosity of a sample in a model experiment. Such a technique could be used in field measurements with obvious advantages in comparison with thermal neutron transmission techniques, which can

Object: To provide a boiling water reactor which can enhance a quake resisting strength and flatten power distribution. Structure: At least more than four fuel bundles, in which a plurality of fuel rods are arranged in lattice fashion which upper and lower portions are supported by tie-plates, are bundled and then covered by a square channel box. The control rod is movably arranged within a space formed by adjoining channel boxes. A spacer of trapezoidal section is disposed in the central portion on the side of the channel box over substantially full length in height direction, and a neutron instrumented tube is disposed in the central portion inside the channel box. Thus, where a horizontal load is exerted due to earthquake or the like, the spacers come into contact with each other to support the channel box and prevent it from abnormal vibrations. (Furukawa, Y.)

Disclosed is a neutronic reactor having a moderator, coolant tubes traversing the moderator from an inlet end to an outlet end, bodies of material fissionable by neutrons of thermal energy disposed within the coolant tubes, and means for circulating water through said coolant tubes characterized by the improved construction wherein the coolant tubes are constructed of aluminum having an outer diameter of 1.729 inches and a wall thickness of 0.059 inch, and the means for circulating a liquid coolant through the tubes includes a source of water at a pressure of approximately 350 pounds per square inch connected to the inlet end of the tubes, and said construction including a pressure reducing orifice disposed at the inlet ends of the tubes reducing the pressure of the water by approximately 150 pounds per square inch. 1 claim, 16 figures

Here we report experimental simulations of hydrothermal chimney growth using injection chemical garden methods. The versatility of this type of experiment allows for testing of various proposed ocean / hydrothermal fluid chemistries that could have driven reactions toward the origin of life in environments on the early Earth, early Mars, or even other worlds such as the icy moons of the outer planets. We show experiments that include growth of chemical garden structures under anoxic conditions simulating the early Earth, inclusion of trace components of phosphates / organics in the injection solution to incorporate them into the structure, a switch of the injection solution to introduce a secondary precipitating anion, and the measurement of membrane potentials generated by chemical gardens. Using this method, self-assembling chemical garden structures were formed that mimic the natural chimneys precipitated at submarine hydrothermal springs, and these precipitates can be used successfully as flow-through reactors by feeding through multiple successive "hydrothermal" injections.

This manual describes the uncertainty analysis used to determine the effluent temperature limits for a Mark 22 charge in the Savannah River Site production reactors. The postulated accident scenario is a DEGB/LOCA resulting from a coolant pipe break at the plenum inlet accompanied by the safety rod failure described in the previous chapter. The analysis described in this manual is used to calculate the limits for the flow instability phase of the accident. For this phase of the accident, the limits criterion is that the Stanton number does not exceed 0.00455 [1]. The limits are determined for a specified 84% probability that the Stanton number will not exceed 0.00455 in any assembly in the core

Highlights: • 3D CFD of vertical calandria vessel. • Spatial distribution of volumetric heat generation. • Effect of Archimedes number. • Non-dimensional analysis. - Abstract: Three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has been performed for the moderator flow and temperature fields inside a vertical calandria vessel of nuclear reactor under normal operating condition using OpenFOAM CFD code. OpenFOAM is validated by comparing the predicted results with the experimental data available in literature. CFD model includes the calandria vessel, calandria tubes, inlet header and outlet header. Analysis has been performed for the cases of uniform and spatial distribution of volumetric heat generation. Studies show that the maximum temperature in moderator is lower in the case of spatial distribution of heat generation as compared to that in the uniform heat generation in calandria. In addition, the effect of Archimedes number on maximum and average moderator temperature was investigated.

A mechanistic oxygen transfer model was developed and applied to a flow-through hollow-fiber membrane-aerated biofilm reactor. Model results are compared to conventional clean water test results as well as performance data obtained when an actively nitrifying biofilm was present on the fibers......-liquid interface was the most accurate of the predictive models (overpredicted by a factor of 1.1) while a coefficient determined by measuring bulk liquid dissolved oxygen underpredicted the oxygen transfer by a factor of 3. The mechanistic model was found to be an adequate tool for design because it used....... With the biofilm present, oxygen transfer efficiencies between 30 and 55% were calculated from the measured data including the outlet gas oxygen concentration, ammonia consumption stoichiometry, and oxidized nitrogen production stoichiometry, all of which were in reasonable agreement. The mechanistic model...

and limited oxygen supply. Here, we present a novel method for the collection of such kinetic data using a pressurized tube-in-tube reactor, operated in the low-dispersed flow regime to generate time-series data, with minimal material consumption. Experimental development and validation of the instrument......Enzyme-mediated oxidation is of particular interest to synthetic organic chemists. However, the implementation of such systems demands knowledge of enzyme kinetics. Conventionally collecting kinetic data for biocatalytic oxidations is fraught with difficulties such as low oxygen solubility in water...... revealed not only the high degree of accuracy of the kinetic data obtained, but also the necessity of making measurements in this way to enable the accurate evaluation of high KMO enzyme systems. For the first time, this paves the way to integrate kinetic data into the protein engineering cycle....

A flow injection analysis (FIA) method for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in reactor moderator water was developed and installed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) Water Quality Laboratory. The technique has an analytical range of 0.10 to 2.50 ppm (ug/mL) with a sampling rate of 40 samples per hour. The calibration curve is linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.999, and the precision is excellent with relative standard deviations at the 0.50% level for both 0.10 and 2.50 ppm standards. When the automated FIA procedure is compared to the manual method it demonstrates a twenty minute reduction in analysis time per sample, and the total liquid waste generated per sample analyzed is reduced by roughly 95 mL. 6 refs., 10 figs., 6 tabs.

A flow injection analysis (FIA) method for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in reactor moderator water was developed and installed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) Water Quality Laboratory. The technique has an analytical range of 0.10 to 2.50 ppm (ug/mL) with a sampling rate of 40 samples per hour. The calibration curve is linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.999, and the precision is excellent with relative standard deviations at the 0.50% level for both 0.10 and 2.50 ppm standards. When the automated FIA procedure is compared to the manual method it demonstrates a twenty minute reduction in analysis time per sample, and the total liquid waste generated per sample analyzed is reduced by roughly 95 mL. 6 refs., 10 figs., 6 tabs.

Full Text Available Abstract The interest in biodiesel as an alternative source of energy has been extremely intensified by its use as a renewable and economically viable fuel. As a result, continuous production processes have been a requirement to supply growing demand. This work presents experimental and simulated results of two biodiesel production pilot plants and makes a comparison between the processes they use. The first one was designed with three plug flowreactors (PFRs connected with recycle streams. The second one was composed of a reactive distillation process for biodiesel production. Repeated tests in Aspen Plus and Matlab showed that multiple PFRs with high volume are required for 98% ester conversion. However, a single unit of reactive distillation resulted in 99% conversion. In short, to produce large quantities of biodiesel this work indicates continuous reactive distillation as the most adequate process.

The reduction of biological excess sludge production using ozone is a well-known technology and is applied in several full-scale plants around the world. Nevertheless, optimisation of the process is not yet adequately documented in the literature. Operational parameters are usually chosen by assuming a direct proportionality between ozone dose and excess sludge reduction. This paper investigates the role of ozone concentration on process efficiency and demonstrates the (non-linear) inverse relationship between ozone dose and specific particulate chemical oxygen demand solubilisation in plug-flow contact reactors. The influence of total suspended solids concentration is also studied and described. No short-term lethal effects on heterotrophic biomass have been observed.

The report describes the program objectives, overall work plans, and progress achieved. A description is also given of the related state-of-the-art flow-induced vibration (FIV) technology which represents the starting point of the program. The program has been developed to increase plant availability through substantially reducing downtime caused by FIV failure of components. It is a four-year balanced effort of fundamental studies, analyses, tests of idealized conditions, and realistic tests of reactor components, all leading to the preparation of design guides and criteria for LWR's. The specific goals of the program are to: (1) produce improved FIV design criteria; (2) provide improved analytical methods for predicting behavior of components; (3) provide general scaling laws which will improve the accuracy of reduced-scale tests (required for those situations where it is impossible to predict the FIV response analytically or through full-scale testing); and (4) identify high FIV risk areas. To achieve these goals, the program has been divided into four major tasks: (1) fundamental studies; (2) model and full-size tests; (3) design methods, guides and criteria; and (4) program administration. Task 1 will provide a better understanding of FIV phenomena through a combination of fundamental tests and analyses of geometries common in LWR's and mechanisms which can cause FIV. The studies will systematically vary parameters using relatively small-scale idealized geometries and controlled flow fields. Task 2 will verify and extend the results of Task 1 through the testing of realistic LWR component geometries. Task 3 will develop analytical methods, as well as utilize the results of Tasks 1 and 2 to produce design guides, predictive models, and scaling laws. Task 4 will administrate the program, as well as insure that pressure water reactor (PWR) needs are given proper consideration

The High-temperature Gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is a Next Generation Nuclear System that has a good chance to be used as energy generation source in the near future owing to its potential capacity to supply hydrogen without greenhouse gas emission for the future humanity. Recently, improvements in the HTGR design led to the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) concept in which the outlet temperature of the coolant gas reaches to 1000 deg C increasing the efficiency of the hydrogen and electricity generation. Among the core concepts emerging in the VHTR development stands out the prismatic block which uses coated fuel microspheres named TRISO pressed into cylinders and assembled in hexagonal graphite blocks staked to form columns. The graphite blocks contain flow channels around the fuel cylinders for the helium coolant. In this study an analysis is performed using the CFD code CFX 13.0 on a prismatic fuel assembly in order to investigate its thermo-fluid dynamic performance. The simulations were made in a 1/12 fuel element model of the GT-MHR design which was developed by General Atomics. A numerical mesh verification process based on the Grid Convergence Index (GCI) was performed using five progressively refined meshes to assess the numerical uncertainty of the simulation and determine adequate mesh parameters. An analysis was also performed to evaluate different methods to define the inlet and outlet boundary conditions. In this study simulations of models with and without inlet and outlet plena were compared, showing that the presence of the plena offers a more realistic flow distribution. (author)

Fluid flow and heat transfer calculations for reactor fuel assemblies are typically based on either one-dimensional models for individual sub-channels or models of interconnected sub-channels in which cross flows are accounted for in a simplified manner. As for the fuel channel of a CANDU 6 reactor, the development of mechanistic models and methods for flows along fuel elements enclosed inside typical CANDU-6 fuel channel has encountered difficulties due to the modeling of local effects along the horizontal channel. The complexity of the configuration such as fuel elements, spacers, etc. inside the fuel channel affects various thermal-hydraulic characteristics. In particular, the fluid flow and phase changes along the fuel channel get much more complicated in the case of the CANDU fuel channels. Since the mechanisms governing two-phase pressure drop along the horizontal channel is still not fully satisfactory even for flows in smooth channels, the complexity of the CANDU-6 fuel channel geometry makes it even more difficult to predict the two-phase fluid flow characteristics. In other word, the increased pressure losses and the subcooled boiling may also change the void distribution along the channel. This is particularly important in CANDU-6 reactors, where small changes of the average void in the fuel channel directly affect, through the void reactivity feedback, the axial power distribution in the core. The recent progress in CFD methods has provided opportunities for using mechanistic multidimensional models reflecting the actual geometry of the fuel channel. Therefore, the objectives of this study are: to investigate a proposed sub-cooled boiling model developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and to apply against a experiment, the Frigg Assembly and to predict local distributions of flow fields for the actual fuel channel geometries of CANDU-6 reactors. The two-phase models used in the predictions have been numerically implemented using the FLUENT CFD

The local temperature of the moderator is a key parameter in determining the available subcooling. To predict the flow field and local temperature distribution in the calandria, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) started the experimental research on moderator circulation as one of a national R and D research programs from 2012. This research program includes the construction of the Moderator Circulation Test (MCT) facility, production of the validation data for self-reliant CFD tools, and development of optical measurement system using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) techniques. Small-scale 1/40 and 1/8 small-scale model tests were performed prior to installation of the main MCT facility to identify the potential problems of the flow visualization and measurement expected in the 1/4 scale MCT facility. In the 1/40 scale test, a flow field was measured with a PIV measurement technique under an iso-thermal state, and the temperature field was visualized using a LIF technique. In this experiment, the key point was to illuminate the region of interest as uniformly as possible since the velocity and temperature fields in the shadow regions were distorted and unphysical. In the 1/8 scale test, the flow patterns from the inlet nozzles to the top region of the tank were investigated using PIV measurement at two different positions of the inlet nozzle. For each position of laser beam exposure the measurement sections were divided to 7 groups to overcome the limitation of the laser power to cover the relatively large test section. The MCT facility is the large-scale facility designed to reproduce the important characteristics of moderator circulation in a CANDU6 calandria under a range of operating conditions. It is reduced in a 1/4 scale and a moderator test vessel is built to the specifications of the CANDU6 reactor design, where a working fluid is sub-cooled water with atmospheric pressure. Previous studies were

The local temperature of the moderator is a key parameter in determining the available subcooling. To predict the flow field and local temperature distribution in the calandria, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) started the experimental research on moderator circulation as one of a national R and D research programs from 2012. This research program includes the construction of the Moderator Circulation Test (MCT) facility, production of the validation data for self-reliant CFD tools, and development of optical measurement system using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) techniques. Small-scale 1/40 and 1/8 small-scale model tests were performed prior to installation of the main MCT facility to identify the potential problems of the flow visualization and measurement expected in the 1/4 scale MCT facility. In the 1/40 scale test, a flow field was measured with a PIV measurement technique under an iso-thermal state, and the temperature field was visualized using a LIF technique. In this experiment, the key point was to illuminate the region of interest as uniformly as possible since the velocity and temperature fields in the shadow regions were distorted and unphysical. In the 1/8 scale test, the flow patterns from the inlet nozzles to the top region of the tank were investigated using PIV measurement at two different positions of the inlet nozzle. For each position of laser beam exposure the measurement sections were divided to 7 groups to overcome the limitation of the laser power to cover the relatively large test section. The MCT facility is the large-scale facility designed to reproduce the important characteristics of moderator circulation in a CANDU6 calandria under a range of operating conditions. It is reduced in a 1/4 scale and a moderator test vessel is built to the specifications of the CANDU6 reactor design, where a working fluid is sub-cooled water with atmospheric pressure. Previous studies were

The oxidation of methanol in a flowreactor has been studied experimentally under diluted, fuel-lean conditions at 650-1350 K, over a wide range of O-2 concentrations (1%-16%), and with and without the presence of nitric oxide. The reaction is initiated above 900 K, with the oxidation rate...

This is a study on the modeling method for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to analyze and to predict primary coolant flow behavior in a tank-in-pool type research reactor at the conceptual design stage. It is very hard to conduct a CFD analysis on an enormous complex equipment integrated system like a nuclear reactor with no simplification and alternative model treatment, so it is required a new methodological approach to be adopted to such an enormous CFD model. In this study it is proposed a new modeling method to solve a nuclear reactor employing plate type nuclear fuel assemblies. The idea attributes fuel assembly modeling to simplification, but the effect and the influence to a flow by fuel assembly can be reproduced as close as possible to physical phenomena. The idea is applied to CFD analysis model for a tank-in-pool type research reactor. A careful evaluation of the CFD analysis result is carried out whether the CFD model can provide a reasonable prediction or not. According to the evaluation it can be said that the proposed modeling method is so useful idea for the CFD analysis model to solve the whole nuclear reactor. The CFD result provides valuable predictions to the flow phenomena in the tank-in-pool type research reactor, which contributes to the more understanding of flow characteristics of primary coolant flow in the reactor. It is shown by the CFD analysis that the reactor core would have even flow distribution within {+-}3% deviation to the design flow rate, and that the primary coolant of PCHT(Primary Coolant Hold-up Tank) would flow out to reactor pool via the NC flow gates. The outstanding grasping of the flow in the PCHT leads to a remedy to reduce the flowing out from the NC flow gates.

Full Text Available The conversion program of the 2 MW TRIGA reactor in Bandung consisted of the replacement of cylindrical fuel (produced by General Atomic with plate fuel (produced by BATAN. The replacement led into the change of core cooling process from upward natural convection type to downward forced convection type, and resulted in different thermohydraulic safety criteria, such as critical heat flux (CHF limit, boiling limit, and cooling fluid flow stability. In this paper, a thermohydraulic safety analysis of the converted TRIGA reactor is presented by considering the Dynamic Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR criterion, Onset Nucleate Boiling Ratio (ONBR limit, and cooling fluid flow stability at various cooling fluid flow rate.The numerical analyses were performed using the HEATHYD program on the hottest channels of reactor core.The combination of heat transfer and fluid flow analysis were conducted for reactor operation at 2 MW with 20 fuel element bundles and four control rod bundles. Incoming fluid flow to the cooling channel was fixed at 44.5 °C temperature and 1.9970 bar pressure, and its flow rate was varied from 1.25 to 3.5 m3/h. By inputting these values, as well as the total power of fuel elements per bundle, the wall temperature distribution of the plate fuel element, cooling fluid temperature distribution, and pressure losses in the channels were obtained for the analysis of CHF limit, boiling limit, and flow stability. It was shown that no boiling occurred for the cooling fluid flow rate range of 2.4 to 3.5 m3/h, and even at the cooling fluid flow rate of 1.25 m3/h where some bubbles occurred, the DNBR was higher than the critical limit (more than 23 while the flow stability criterion in some channels were slightly less than 1 (unstable. At the cooling fluid flow rate of 1.4 m3/h, however, the flow became stable in all channel. Stagnation point flow and heat transfer for a viscoelastic fluid ...

Newtonian fluid) on the surface of water. (viscous fluid) has motivated us to study this problem. In general, crude oils have different rheological properties based on dilution. For example, crude oil [15, 16] has viscoelastic prosperities.

The overall objective of the thesis project is to determine the flow profiles sub cadmic and epi cadmic in the central thimble to different powers and operation times of TRIGA Mark III Reactor, using activation foils as detectors. In the reactor operation, it is necessary to know the neutron flow profile for to realize other tasks as: the radioisotopes production, research in reactors physics and fuel burning. The distribution of the neutron flow, accurately reflects what is happening in the reactor core, plus the flows value in this distribution is directly related to the power generated. For this reason it is performed the sub cadmic flow measurement with energies between 0 and 0.4 eV (energy of the cadmium cut E cd ∼ 0.4 eV) and epi cadmic flow with energies greater than 0.4 eV, in the central thimble powers to the powers of 10, 100 W, 1, 10 100 Kw and 1 MW. The method used is known as flakes activation, which is to be arranged by placing flakes ( 3 mm of diameter and 0.0508 mm of thickness) of a given material (either Au, In, Cu, Mn, etc.) into an aluminum tube outside diameter equal to 6.35 mm, alternating flakes with lids covered and discovered of cadmium (3.4 mm of diameter and 0.508 mm of thickness) and separated by lucite pieces of 3 mm of diameter and 25.4 mm in length. After irradiating the flakes for some time, is measured the gamma activity of each of them, using a hyper pure germanium detector of high resolution. Already known gamma activity, proceed to calculate the epi cadmic and sub cadmic flows using a computer program in Fortran language, called Caflu. (Author)

SODIS (solar disinfection) is a low-cost alternative for water decontamination. The method is based on the exposure of water, contained in PET bottles, to direct sunlight, and mainly its UV-A and infrared components. The present research studied SODIS as a low cost alternative for the inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in treated greywater, aiming at its reuse for more noble applications. Experiments were performed in (i) batch mode (2 L PET-bottles), testing the effect of turbidity on system efficiency and, (ii) in a continuous pilot-scale reactor prototype (51 L, using interconnected 2 L-PET bottles), testing hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 18 and 24 h. Samples were exposed to an average solar radiation intensity of 518 W/m2. The results obtained indicate that the SODIS system has potential for total coliforms and E. coli inactivation in the pre-treated greywater, reaching 2.1 log units E. coli inactivation in batch experiments for low turbidity samples (21 NTU), and > 2 log units inactivation of total coliforms (and E. coli, when present) for the 24 h HRT-continuous prototype. The continuous flow prototype needs more testing and structural improvements to cope with the difficulties posed by algae growth, as they complicate maintaining conditions of constant flow and make frequent maintenance inevitable.

En-masse feeder replacement was done at RAPS-2 after occurrence of a pinhole leak in B12 (S) outlet feeder elbow. Some of the feeders, removed after a service of 15.67 EFPY were received for detailed investigation. Ultrasonic thickness measurement of the feeders was carried out to ascertain the loss in wall thickness due to Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) and marking the region of interest from outside. Surface morphology of inner surface of a number of feeder samples were carried out by SEM near the HAZ and adjoining area. Maximum FAC had occurred in the heat-affected zone of the weld in 32 NB elbows. Weld was affected to a lower extent than the parent metal due to higher chromium content. IGSCC cracks were also observed in parent metal portion of the middle elbow in 32 NB outlet feeder pipe due to bending residual stresses. There are two life limiting reasons to curtail the useful life in the reactors namely FAC and IGSCC. The problem of FAC can be reduced by increasing chromium content and reducing the flow velocity by opting for higher diameter feeder pipes. The welding defects and residual stresses in HAZ and surrounding areas are detrimental for FAC and IGSCC in the elbow region. This paper presents some of the microstructural observations and findings on FAC to explain the mechanism of degradation of feeders. (author)

We have designed, constructed, characterized, and employed a flowreactor cell that can be used to investigate the interaction of gaseous species such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxidants, acids, and water vapor with authentic and model surfaces that are present in indoor and outdoor environments. The 3.9 L rectangular cell is made of FEP-coated aluminum and has one open face that can be sealed to the surface of interest. An internal plunger is raised (lowered) to expose (cover) the surface while various probe chemicals are added to the flow. To date we have exposed painted surfaces to O3, OH radicals (made from reaction of O3 with tetramethylethene and from photolysis of methyl nitrate/NO mixtures), and NO3 radicals (made from thermal decomposition N2O5) and analyzed the emitted oxidation products with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) and chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) equipped with an iodide reagent ion source. Further studies have included the reaction of oxidants with surfaces coated with organic films such as squalene and polyethylene glycol, as well as uptake of ketones and acids from the gas-phase to painted surfaces. The cell was also recently deployed at the University of Colorado-Boulder Art Museum during spring of 2017 to investigate the oxidation products released from the museum walls and floors. Results from all of these studies will be presented.

A κ-ε turbulence model was implemented in the FLICA computer code which is devoted to thermal-hydraulic analysis of nuclear reactor cores flows. Foreseen applications concern single-phase flows in rod bundles. First-moment closure principles are reminded. Low Reynolds wall effects are accounted for by a two-layer approach. A computational method for the distance from the wall must have been developed to do so. Two two-layer κ-ε models are proposed and studied: the classical isotropic version, based on the Boussinesq's hypothesis, and an original anisotropic version which supposes a non-linear relation between Reynolds stresses and mean deformation rate. The second one permits the treatment of anisotropy, which is encountered in non-circular ducts in general, and in rod bundles in particular. Turbulent solver is linearized implicit, based on a finite volume method - VF9 scheme for the viscous part, upwind scheme for passive scalar for the convective part, centered scheme for the source terms. Several numerical simulations on 2D and 3D configurations were conducted (validation standard test, industrial application). (author) [fr

In this report, the thermal hydraulic and flow visualization experiment was described for the KALIMER-600 water-scaled model. In order to investigate a thermal hydraulic characteristics for the SFR KALIMER-600, which has been conceptually designed in the KAERI, a water-scaled 1/10 reactor vessel model was designed and prepared through the scaling analysis during three-years research. In this research, SFR Photos system, which has inherently very complicated the internal structures, was fabricated with a transparent vessel. It was shown that a serious of thermal hydraulic test was conducted within a short period if modeled with water than sodium. Natural circulation test was successfully performed with the modeled heater assembly and heat exchanger system coupled with cooling system. The water-scaled RSV experimental facility made in this research could be used to study the USA development for the future SFR system and utilized to analyze the flow characteristics before changing a main internal part of Photos system. It could also be used to test a pool-inspection study and a sensor selection study before large scale sodium experiment. The PCV system prepared in this research could be utilized to test other TSH experiment and temperature field measurement

A method based on noise analysis techniques that can be applied to the identification of two-phase flow patterns in nuclear reactors is proposed. The identifying criterion, the high-frequency contribution fraction (HFCF), offers new potential to the in-core recognition of two-phase flow patterns. By analyzing 76 sets of signals acquired from a research nuclear reactor where two-phase flow patterns are generated in an in-core air/water loop, the typical signal, autocorrelogram, and spectrum of each flow pattern are demonstrated and evaluated. The identification success rate is 87 or 93%, depending on whether churn flow is counted. A method to improve the identification rate is also presented. This study demonstrates that the fluctuation characteristics above 10 Hz are induced by two-phase flow itself and are independent of the driving source; thus, it is adequate to apply the HFCF to the identification of two-phase flow patters. This study shows that it is possible to identify two-phase flow patterns by HFCF values

There are some 40 reactors based on the VVER design in use. Database available for computer code assessment for VVER reactors is rather limited. Experiments were conducted to study natural circulation behaviour in the PACTEL facility, a medium-scale integral test loop patterned after VVER pressurized water reactors. Flow behaviour over a range of coolant inventories was studied with a small-break experiment. In the small-break experiments, flowstagnation and system repressurization were observed when the water level in the upper plenum fell below the entrances to the hot legs. The cause was attributed to the hot leg loop seals, which are a unique feature of the VVER geometry. At low primary inventories, core cooling was achieved through the boiler-condenser mode. The experiment was simulated using French thermalhydraulic system code CATHARE.

Full Text Available High thermal neutron fluxes are needed in some research reactors and for irradiation tests of materials. A High Flux Research Reactor (HFRR with an inverse flux trap-converter target structure is being developed by the Reactor Engineering Analysis Lab (REAL at Tsinghua University. This paper studies the safety of the HFRR core by full core flow and temperature calculations using the porous media approach. The thermal nonequilibrium model is used in the porous media energy equation to calculate coolant and fuel assembly temperatures separately. The calculation results show that the coolant temperature keeps increasing along the flow direction, while the fuel temperature increases first and decreases afterwards. As long as the inlet coolant mass flow rate is greater than 450 kg/s, the peak cladding temperatures in the fuel assemblies are lower than the local saturation temperatures and no boiling exists. The flow distribution in the core is homogeneous with a small flow rate variation less than 5% for different assemblies. A large recirculation zone is observed in the outlet region. Moreover, the porous media model is compared with the exact model and found to be much more efficient than a detailed simulation of all the core components.

Highlights: • Quantification of the design and safety of the MYRRHA reactor in the event of a pin failure. • Simulation of different accident scenarios in both forced and natural convection regime. • The accumulation areas at the free-surface in case of the least dense particles depend on the flow regime. • The densest particles form an important deposit at the bottom of the vessel. • Further study of the risk of core blockage requires a detailed model of the core. - Abstract: This work on fuel dispersion aims at quantifying the design and safety of the MYRRHA nuclear reactor. A number of accidents leading to the release of a secondary phase into the primary coolant loop are investigated. Among these scenarios, an incident leading to the failure of one or more of the fuel pins is simulated while the reactor is operating in nominal conditions, but also in natural convection regime either during accident transients such as loss-of-flow or during the normal shut-down of the reactor. Two single-phase CFD models of the MYRRHA reactor are constructed in ANSYS Fluent to represent the reactor in nominal and natural convection conditions. An Euler–Lagrange approach with one-way coupling is used for the flow and particle tracking. Firstly, a steady state RANS solution is obtained for each of the three conditions. Secondly, the particles are released downstream from the core outlet and particle distributions are provided over the coolant circuit. Their size and density are defined such that test cases represent potential extremes that may occur. Analysis of the results highlights different particle behaviors, depending essentially on gravity forces and kinematic effects. Statistical distributions highlight potential accumulation regions that may form at the free-surfaces, on top of the upper diaphragm plate or at the bottom of the vessel. These results help to localize regions of fuel accumulation in order to provide insight for development of strategies for

An apparatus consisting of two pumps, a mixer, a ferritin reactor, and a spectrophotometer was constructed to study the ability to trap various heavy metal ions (M2+) and the dynamics of a reconstituted ferritin reactor in flowing seawater. Reconstituted pig spleen ferritin (PSFr) is assembled from apo-protein shell to form a reconstituted iron core. The main components of the PSFr are its core, which contains an Fe2+:Pi stoichiometry of 6.0 +/- 0.5, reconstituted from pig spleen apoferritin (apo PSF), Fe2+, inorganic phosphate (Pi), and O2 (0.6 atm). The Fe3+-Pi clusters within the PSFr core exhibit resistance to salt ranging from 1% to 6% NaCl. The ferritin reactor consists of PSFr and an oscillating bag. Using the reactor, M2+ ions such as Cd2+, Zn2+, Co2+, and Mn2+ are directly trapped by the ferritin. We found a 1:2 +/- 0.2 stoichiometry of the trapped M2+ to the released iron as measured by chemical analysis or atomic absorption spectrometry; nontransient elements such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, etc., were scarcely trapped by the reactor. This study provides basic conditions for establishing a ferritin reactor and a convenient means for monitoring the pollution of heavy metal ions in seawater.

The main aim of the following study is to assess the RELAP5/MOD3.3 code capability in simulating transient dynamic behaviour in nuclear research reactors. For this purpose typical loss of flow transient in a representative MTR (Metal Test Reactor) fuel type Research Reactor is considered. The transient herein considered is a sudden pump trip followed by the opening of a safety valve in order to allow passive decay heat removal by natural convection. During such transient the coolant flow decay, originally downward, leads to a flow reversal and the cooling process of the core passes from forced, mixed and finally to natural circulation. This fact makes it suitable for evaluating the new features of RELAP5 to simulate such specific operating conditions. The instantaneous reactor power is derived through the point kinetic calculation, both protected and unprotected cases are considered (with and without Scram). The results obtained from this analysis were also compared with previous results obtained by old version RELAP5/MOD2 code. (author)

This work aims to test the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to fixed bed catalytic cracking reactors. Studies of CFD with a fixed bed design commonly use a regular packing with N=2 to define bed geometry. CFD allows us to obtain a more accurate view of the fluid flow and heat transfer mechanisms present in fixed bed equipment. Naphtha was used as feedstock and the reactor length was 80cm. It is divided in three sections that catalyst bed packed in the middle section ...

Thermoelectric Electromagnetic (TEEM) Pumps can be used for controlling the fluid flow in the primary and secondary circuits of liquid metal cooled space nuclear reactor. In order to simulate and to evaluate the pumps performance, in steady-state, the computer program BEMTE has been developed to study the main operational parameters and to determine the system actuation point, for a given reactor operating power. The results for each stage of the program were satisfactory, compared to experimental data. The program shows to be adequate for the design and simulating of direct current electromagnetic pumps. (author)

To solve thermalhydraulics problems which are rising for example on the various parts of nuclear reactors, several departments of the Direction des Etudes et Recherches are developing the N3S code, three-dimensional code using the finite element method. First, this paper presents the basic equations (Navies-Stokes with turbulence modelling and coupled with the thermal equation) and well suited algorithms to solve them. The industrial adequacy of the code is clearly demonstrated through the application to the computation of the flow in the cold plenum of the Fast Breeder Reactor 1500 MW on a mesh of about 20000 velocity nodes [fr

The effect of a flow guide in a vertical MOCVD reactor on the deposition uniformity and growth rate of thin YBCO films has been studied. Without the flow guide the growth rates are low, have a poor uniformity and the film composition is not stoichiometric. The growth rate of the films grown using a reactor with the flow guide was approximately twice that without the flow guide. Using this flow guide the growth rates were 0.4-0.7 μm/h for growth temperatures varying between 600 and 750 C, and the crystalline quality as well as the surface morphology of YBCO films on MgO substrates is improved. For films grown at temperatures above 650 C the composition of Y:Ba:Cu is 1:2:3, as confirmed by EDAX spectra. Films deposited without and with the flow guide at 700 C have critical temperatures around 85 and 88 K, respectively. The reduction in ΔT c (T c,zero -T c,onset ) also shows an improvement of the superconducting properties of YBCO thin films deposited with a flow guide. (orig.)

Highlights: • Computational fluid dynamic simulations in a filter-press stack of three cells. • The fluid velocity was different in each cell due to local turbulence. • The upper cell link pipe of the filter press cell acts as a fluid mixer. • The fluid behaviour tends towards a continuous mixing flow pattern. • Close agreement between simulations and experimental data was achieved. - Abstract: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were carried out for single-phase flow in a pre-pilot filter press flowreactor with a stack of three cells. Velocity profiles and streamlines were obtained by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a standard k − ε turbulence model. The flow behaviour shows the appearance of jet flow at the entrance to each cell. At lengths from 12 to 15 cm along the cells channels, a plug flow pattern is developed at all mean linear flow rates studied here, 1.2 ≤ u ≤ 2.1 cm s −1 . The magnitude of the velocity profiles in each cell was different, due to the turbulence generated by the change of flow direction in the last fluid manifold. Residence time distribution (RTD) simulations indicated that the fluid behaviour tends towards a continuous mixing flow pattern, owing to flow at the output of each cell across the upper cell link pipe, which acts as a mixer. Close agreement between simulations and experimental RTD was obtained.

The effect discovered in studying a downward liquid-metal flow in vertical pipe and in a channel of rectangular cross section in, respectively, a transverse and a coplanar magnetic field is analyzed. In test blanket modules (TBM), which are prototypes of a blanket for a demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO) and which are intended for experimental investigations at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), liquid metals are assumed to fulfil simultaneously the functions of (i) a tritium breeder, (ii) a coolant, and (iii) neutron moderator and multiplier. This approach to testing experimentally design solutions is motivated by plans to employ, in the majority of the currently developed DEMO blanket projects, liquid metals pumped through pipes and/or rectangular channels in a transvers magnetic field. At the present time, experiments that would directly simulate liquid-metal flows under conditions of ITER TBM and/or DEMO blanket operation (irradiation with thermonuclear neutrons, a cyclic temperature regime, and a magnetic-field strength of about 4 to 10 T) are not implementable for want of equipment that could reproduce simultaneously the aforementioned effects exerted by thermonuclear plasmas. This is the reason why use is made of an iterative approach to experimentally estimating the performance of design solutions for liquid-metal channels via simulating one or simultaneously two of the aforementioned factors. Therefore, the investigations reported in the present article are of considerable topical interest. The respective experiments were performed on the basis of the mercury magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) loop that is included in the structure of the MPEI—JIHT MHD experimental facility. Temperature fields were measured under conditions of two- and one-sided heating, and data on averaged-temperature fields, distributions of the wall temperature, and statistical fluctuation features were obtained. A substantial effect of counter thermo gravitational

The ECC bypass phenomenon in the PWR reactor down-comer, which delays the reactor vessel refilling, after cold leg large break LOCA accident, has been subject of analysis in this paper. In the paper, a particular construction modification of the reactor down-comer has been suggested by inserting vertical ribs, aimed to intensify the reactor ECC refilling following the LOCA accident, and to advance the thermal-hydraulics safety of post-accidental cooling of the PWR reactors. To verify the effectiveness of the suggested down-comer construction modification, some properly selected results, obtained by corresponding verified mathematical model, have been presented in this paper. (author)

In Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiments on the Z facility, an axial current of 15-20 MA is driven through a thick metal cylinder containing axially-magnetized, laser-heated deuterium fuel. The cylinder implodes, further heating the fuel and amplifying the axial B-field. Instabilities, such as magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor, develop on the exterior of the liner and may feed through to the inner surface during the implosion. Monochromatic x-ray emission at stagnation shows the stagnation column is quasi-helical with axial variations in intensity. Recent experiments demonstrated that the stagnation emission structure changed with modifications to the target wall thickness. Additionally, applying a thick dielectric coating to the exterior of the target modified the stagnation column. A new version of the x-ray self-emission diagnostic has been developed to investigate stagnation with higher resolution. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

The multi-inlet vortex reactor (MIVR) has been developed to provide a platform for rapid mixing in the application of flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) for manufacturing functional nanoparticles. Unfortunately, commonly used RANS methods are unable to accurately model this complex swirling flow. Large eddy simulations have also been problematic, as expensive fine grids to accurately model the flow are required. These dilemmas led to the strategy of applying a Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) method to the vortex reactor. In the current work, the turbulent swirling flow inside a scaled-up MIVR has been investigated by using a dynamic DDES model. In the DDES model, the eddy viscosity has a form similar to the Smagorinsky sub-grid viscosity in LES and allows the implementation of a dynamic procedure to determine its coefficient. The complex recirculating back flow near the reactor center has been successfully captured by using this dynamic DDES model. Moreover, the simulation results are found to agree with experimental data for mean velocity and Reynolds stresses.

The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), one of the 'Generation IV' concepts, is a liquid-fuel reactor, which is different from the conventional reactors using solid fissile materials due to the flow effect of fuel salt. The study on its neutronics considering the fuel salt flow, which is the base of the thermal-hydraulic calculation and safety analysis, must be done. In this paper, the theoretical model on neutronics under steady condition for a single-liquid-fueled MSR is conducted and calculated by numerical method. The neutronics model consists of two group neutron diffusion equations for fast and thermal neutron fluxes, and balance equations for six-group delayed neutron precursors considering the flow effect of fuel salt. The spatial discretization of the above models is based on the finite volume method, and the discretization equations are computed by the source iteration method. The distributions of neutron fluxes and the distributions of the delayed neutron precursors in the core are obtained. The numerical calculated results show that, the fuel salt flow has little effect on the distribution of fast and thermal neutron fluxes and the effective multiplication factor; however, it affects the distribution of the delayed neutron precursors significantly, especially the long-lived one. In addition, it could be found that the delayed neutron precursors influence the neutronics slightly under the steady condition. (authors)

A new high-temperature flowreactor experiment utilizing the powerful molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS) technique for detailed observation of gas phase kinetics in reacting flows is presented. The reactor design provides a consequent extension of the experimental portfolio of validation experiments for combustion reaction kinetics. Temperatures up to 1800 K are applicable by three individually controlled temperature zones with this atmospheric pressure flowreactor. Detailed speciation data are obtained using the sensitive MBMS technique, providing in situ access to almost all chemical species involved in the combustion process, including highly reactive species such as radicals. Strategies for quantifying the experimental data are presented alongside a careful analysis of the characterization of the experimental boundary conditions to enable precise numeric reproduction of the experimental results. The general capabilities of this new analytical tool for the investigation of reacting flows are demonstrated for a selected range of conditions, fuels, and applications. A detailed dataset for the well-known gaseous fuels, methane and ethylene, is provided and used to verify the experimental approach. Furthermore, application for liquid fuels and fuel components important for technical combustors like gas turbines and engines is demonstrated. Besides the detailed investigation of novel fuels and fuel components, the wide range of operation conditions gives access to extended combustion topics, such as super rich conditions at high temperature important for gasification processes, or the peroxy chemistry governing the low temperature oxidation regime. These demonstrations are accompanied by a first kinetic modeling approach, examining the opportunities for model validation purposes.

. in association with Methanoculleus spp. strain MAB1), is an acetate oxidising methanogenic consortium that can produce methane (CH4) at high ammonia levels. In the current study the bioaugmentation of the SAO culture in a mesophilic up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor subjected to high ammonia loads...... was tested. The co-cultivation in fed-batch of a fast-growing hydrogenotrophic methanogen (i.e. Methanoculleus bourgensis) with the SAO culture was also investigated. Results obtained clearly demonstrated that bioaugmentation of SAO culture in a UASB reactor was not possible most probably due to the slow...... growth of the culture. The incubation period (duration of lag+exponential phase) of SAO culture was reduced more than 30% when it was cocultivated with Methanoculleus bourgensis, in fed-batch reactors. Therefore, the bioaugmentation of the SAO culture along with Methanoculleus bourgensis in a UASB...

The mensuration of the thermal and fast flows of the irradiation facilities of the core of the reactor is important, since allow us to determine the optimum time of irradiation of the samples in the reactor. The Dry Tube especially, is an irradiation installation that it was designed in the I.N.I.N. to supply the pneumatic irradiation system of capsules with durations bigger than 15 minutes and it can be used for exposures until a maximum of three hours. The main users are the Nuclear Chemistry Department and the Neutron activation analysis. In this report the neutron flux sub cadmic and epi cadmic obtained in an experimental way in the Dry Tube for the reactor operating in stationary state to powers of 100 Kw, 300 Kw and 1000 Kw are reported and with these values it is interpolated for other powers. (Author)

Full Text Available Silver nanowires (AgNWs with high aspect ratio were obtained utilizing a tapered tubular reactor by the polyol process. The tapered tubular type flowreactor allowed us to obtain nanowires in high yield without defects that is generally encountered in a closed reactor due to excessive shearing for a long time. After reaction the AgNWs were precipitated in the aqueous solution with the aid of a hydrogen bond breaker and were recovered effectively without using a high-cost centrifugation process. Dispersion of the AgNWs were used to prepare transparent conducting electrode (TCE films by a spray coating method, which showed 86% transmittance and 90 Ωsq−1 sheet resistance.

The objective of this study was to detect red blood cell (rbc) DNA abnormalities in male, game-farm mallard ducks as they ranged freely and accumulated 137Cs (radiocesium) from an abandoned nuclear reactor cooling reservoir. Prior to release, the ducks were tamed to enable recapture at will. Flow cytometric measurements conducted at intervals during the first year of exposure yielded cell cycle percentages of DNA (G0/G1, S, G2 + M phases) of rbc, as well as coefficients of variation (CV) in the G0/G1 phase. DNA histograms of exposed ducks were compared with two sets of controls which were maintained 30 and 150 miles from the study site. 137Cs live wholebody burdens were also measured in these animals in a parallel kinetics study, and an approximate steady-state equilibrium was attained after about 8 months. DNA histograms from 2 of the 14 contaminated ducks revealed DNA aneuploid-like patterns after 9 months exposure. These two ducks were removed from the experiment at this time, and when sampled again 1 month later, one continued to exhibit DNA aneuploidy. None of the control DNA histograms demonstrated DNA aneuploid-like patterns. There were no significant differences in cell cycle percentages at any time point between control and exposed animals. A significant increase in CV was observed at 9 months exposure, but after removal of the two ducks with DNA aneuploidy, no significant difference was detected in the group monitored after 12 months exposure. An increased variation in the DNA and DNA aneuploidy could, therefore, be detected in duck rbc using flow cytometric analysis, with the onset of these effects being related to the attainment of maximal levels of 137Cs body burdens in the exposed animals

A flow-through chemical reactor model is developed to describe the mass transfer and chemical processes that atmospheric gases undergo in clouds. The model includes the simultaneous absorption of SO2, NH3, O3, NO(x), HNO3, CO2 and H2O2, the accompanying dissociation and oxidation reactions in cloud water, considers electrical neutrality, and includes qualitative parameterization of cloud microphysics. The model is used to assess the importance of the oxidation reactions H2O2-S(IV), O3-S(IV), and S(IV)-Mn(2+) catalysis, and the effects of cloud parameters such as drop size, rain intensity, liquid water content, and updraft velocity. Both precipitating and nonprecipitating clouds are studied. Model results predict sulfate production rates varying from 3 percent/hr to 230 percent/hr. The actual rate is highly dependent on the chemical composition of the uptake air and the physical conditions of the cloud. Model results also show that both the H2O2 and the O3 oxidation reactions can be significant.

Fault detection has a vital role in the process industry to enhance productivity, efficiency, and safety, and to avoid expensive maintenance. This paper proposes an innovative multivariate fault detection method that can be used for monitoring nonlinear processes. The proposed method merges advantages of nonlinear projection to latent structures (NLPLS) modeling and those of Hellinger distance (HD) metric to identify abnormal changes in highly correlated multivariate data. Specifically, the HD is used to quantify the dissimilarity between current NLPLS-based residual and reference probability distributions obtained using fault-free data. Furthermore, to enhance further the robustness of these methods to measurement noise, and reduce the false alarms due to modeling errors, wavelet-based multiscale filtering of residuals is used before the application of the HD-based monitoring scheme. The performances of the developed NLPLS-HD fault detection technique is illustrated using simulated plug flowreactor data. The results show that the proposed method provides favorable performance for detection of faults compared to the conventional NLPLS method.

A hydrodynamic-structural response analysis of the Mark-IICB loop was performed for the TREAT (Transient Reactor Test Facility) test AX-1. Test AX-1 is intended to provide information concerning the potential for a vapor explosion in an advanced-fueled LMFBR. The test will be conducted in TREAT with unirradiated uranium-carbide fuel pins in the Mark-IICB integral flowing sodium loop. Our analysis addressed the ability of the experimental hardware to maintain its containment integrity during the reference accident postulated for the test. Based on a thermal-hydraulics analysis and assumptions for fuel-coolant interaction in the test section, a pressure pulse of 144 MPa maximum pressure and pulse width of 1.32 ms has been calculated as the reference accident. The response of the test loop to the pressure transient was obtained with the ICEPEL and STRAW codes. Modelling of the test section was completed with STRAW and the remainder of the loop was modelled by ICEPEL

Chirped-pulse Fourier transform millimeter-wave spectroscopy is a potentially powerful tool for studying chemical reaction dynamics and kinetics. Branching ratios of multiple reaction products and intermediates can be measured with unprecedented chemical specificity; molecular isomers, conformers, and vibrational states have distinct rotational spectra. Here we demonstrate chirped-pulse spectroscopy of vinyl cyanide photoproducts in a flow tube reactor at ambient temperature of 295 K and pressures of 1-10 mu bar. This in situ and time-resolved experiment illustrates the utility of this novel approach to investigating chemical reaction dynamics and kinetics. Following 193 nm photodissociation of CH2CHCN, we observe rotational relaxation of energized HCN, HNC, and HCCCN photoproducts with 10 mu s time resolution and sample the vibrational population distribution of HCCCN. The experimental branching ratio HCN/HCCCN is compared with a model based on RRKM theory using high-level ab initio calculations, which were in turn validated by comparisons to Active Thermochemical Tables enthalpies.

Some pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants have introduced ethanol-amine (ETA) injection for the purpose of decreasing iron transfer in steam generator (SG). The ETA injection is supposed to decrease flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) rate, because of secondary system pH increase. But the water chemistry in the secondary system is very complicated. So water chemistry following ETA injection and the effect of ETA injection on FAC rate have not been studied systematically. To assess the influence of ETA injection on FAC rate, it is assumed that the model of FAC rate is proportional to the concentration gradient of magnetite. Then chemical concentration and magnetite solubility of the secondary system are calculated and the change of FAC rate is evaluated in the outline. It has been clarified that the effect of ETA injection reduces the FAC rate to about 1/3-1/22 of that of ammonia. In some portions of the secondary system, the effects of ETA injection have been measured experimentally by rotary disk test. The FAC rate of ETA injection is larger than that of ammonia at high temperature. And the FAC rate peaks at about 180degC in the case of ammonia, but the peak seems to shift to higher temperatures in the case of ETA. (author)

The primary goal of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) field campaign was to measure and mechanistically understand the formation of particle number and mass in a region affected by large tropical rainforest biogenic emissions and sometimes anthropogenic influence from a large urban center. As part of the two intensive operational periods (IOPs) and in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Harvard, the Jimenez Group proposed to deploy a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), Thermal Denuder (TD), Scanning Mobility Particle Size (SMPS), two oxidation flowreactors (OFR; including supporting O3, CO/CO2/CH4, RH analyzers), and a high volume filter sampler (MCV) for the measurement of gas and aerosol chemical, physicochemical, and volatility properties. The two IOPs were conducted during the wet season (February to March, 2014) and dry season (August to October, 2014). This proposal was part of a collaborative proposal involving other university and government laboratories.

The paper presents the results of an efficient electrochemical treatment of Procion Black 5B--a pilot plant study. Experiments were conducted at different current densities and selected electrolyte medium using Ti/RuO2 as anode, stainless-steel as cathode in a cylindrical flowreactor. By cyclic voltammetric analysis, the best condition for maximum redox reaction rate was found to be in NaCl medium. During the various stages of electrolysis, parameters such as COD, colour, FTIR, UV-vis spectra studies, energy consumption and mass transfer coefficient were computed and presented. The experimental results showed that the electrochemical oxidation process could effectively remove colour and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the synthetic dye effluent. The maximum COD reduction and colour removal efficiencies were 74.05% and 100%, respectively. Probable theory, reaction mechanism and modeling were proposed for the oxidation of dye effluent. The results obtained reveal the feasibilities of application of electrochemical treatment for the degradation of Procion Black 5B.

Waste iron was used to treat high concentration chromate (534 mg/L as Cr) from electroplating wastewater by plug flowreactor (PFR) due to the following reasons: (1) two wastes are treated simultaneously, (2) low pH of the electroplating wastewater ( approximately 2) benefits the reaction between these two wastes, (3) effluent pH is elevated in the PFR, reducing the base requirement to meet the pH discharge standard for wastewater (pH 6-9). Complete chromate reductions were achieved at pH 1.7 for hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 98 min, pH 1.5 for HRT of 40 min and pH 1.3 for HRT of 20 min. Consequently, optimum HRT for complete chromate reduction was obtained for different pHs. Although more acids were used to lower influent pH to reduce HRT, effluent pH was higher due to more hydrogen ion reacting with chromate. Eventually, fewer bases are required to fulfill the discharge pH requirement of wastewater. Effluent pH 3-5 was observed with high turbidity, indicating the precipitations of chromium oxide and hydroxide were enhanced by the dissolved iron coagulation. X-ray diffraction was conducted to examine the remaining species. Other than chromium oxide and hydroxide species, an iron-chromium complex (Cr2FeO4) was also observed.

During a severe accident, corium is relocated to the lower head of the nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Design concept of retaining the corium inside a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) through external cooling under hypothetical core melting accidents is called external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC). In this respect, validated two-phase natural circulation flow (TPNC) model is necessary to determine the adequacy of the ERVC design and operating conditions such as inlet area, form losses, gap distance, riser length and coolant conditions. The most important model generally characterizing the TPNC are void fraction and two-phase friction factors. Typical experimental and analytical studies to be referred to on two-phase circulation flow characteristics are those by Reyes, Gartia et al. based on Vijayan et al., Nayak et al. and Dubey et al. In the present paper, two-phase natural circulation (TPNC) flow characteristics under external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) conditions are studied using two existing TPNC flow models of Reyes and Gartia et al. incorporating more improved void fraction and two-phase friction models. These models and correlations are integrated into a computer program, TPNCIRC, which can handle candidate ERVC design parameters, such as inlet, riser and downcomer flow lengths and areas, gap size between reactor vessel and surrounding insulations, minor loss factors and operating parameters of decay power, pressure and subcooling. Accuracy of the TPNCIRC program is investigated with respect to the flow rate and void fractions for existing measured data from a general experiment and ULPU specifically designed for the AP1000 in-vessel retention. Also, the effect of some important design parameters are examined for the experimental and plant conditions. Using the flow models and correlations are integrated into a computer program, TPNCIRC, a number of correlations have been examined. This seems coming from the differences of void fractions

A mathematical model simulating the emptying behavior of a pressurized solar collector loop with solar collectors with a good emptying behavior is developed and validated with measured data. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured results. The developed simulation model...... is therefore suitable to determine the behavior of a solar collector loop during stagnation. A volume ratio R, which is the ratio of the volume of the vapour in the upper pipes of the solar collector loop during stagnation and the fluid content of solar collectors, is introduced to determine the mass...... of the collector fluid pushed into the expansion vessel during stagnation, Min. A correlation function for the mass Min and the volume ratio R for solar collector loops is obtained. The function can be used to determine a suitable size of expansion vessels for solar collector loops....

Chirped-pulsed (CP) Fourier transform rotational spectroscopy invented by Brooks Pate and coworkers a decade ago is an attractive tool for gas phase chemical dynamics and kinetics studies. A good reactor for such a purpose would have well-defined (and variable) temperature and pressure conditions to be amenable to accurate kinetic modeling. Furthermore, in low pressure samples with large enough number of molecular emitters, reaction dynamics can be observable directly, rather than mediated by supersonic expansion. In the present work, we are evaluating feasibility of in situ time-resolved CP spectroscopy in a room temperature flow tube reactor. Vinyl cyanide (CH_2CHCN), neat or mixed with inert gasses, flows through the reactor at pressures 1-50 μbar (0.76-38 mTorr) where it is photodissociated by a 193 nm laser. Millimeter-wave beam of the CP spectrometer co-propagates with the laser beam along the reactor tube and interacts with nascent photoproducts. Rotational transitions of HCN, HNC, and HCCCN are detected, with ≥10 μs time-steps for 500 ms following photolysis of CH_2CHCN. The post-photolysis evolution of the photoproducts' rotational line intensities is investigated for the effects of rotational and vibrational thermalization of energized photoproducts. Possible contributions from bimolecular and wall-mediated chemistry are evaluated as well.

The effectiveness and the security of RBMK reactor operation depends on the accuracy of the control over reactor's parameters and their limitations. The processing of operational parameters archive helps to adjust different mathematical models and significantly widen their field of use. Pressure differential between common pressure header and steam separator is the sum of calculated pressure differential and friction loss on flow control valve. There is known mathematical software, which allows to adapt such model for each fuel channel using the archive. In this research it is suggested not to replace the regular mechanism with such approach, but to use the adapted mathematical model to calculate corrected values of power and flow, which were measured by regular means. Mathematical expressions and procedures for such approach are given.

The reaction of glucose with ferricyanide catalyzed by glucose oxidase from Aspergillus niger gives rise to a wide range of bistability as the flow rate is varied in a continuous flow stirred tank reactor. Oscillations in pH can be obtained by introducing a negative feedback on the autocatalytic production of H+ that drives the bistability. In our experiments, this feedback consists of an inflow of hydroxide ion at a rate that depends on [H+] in the reactor as k0[OH-]0[H+]/(K+[H+]). pH oscillations are found over a broad range of enzyme and ferricyanide concentrations, residence times (k0-1), and feedback parameters. A simple mathematical model quantitatively accounts for the experimentally found oscillations.

The spatial distributions and activities of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) were investigated for a novel laboratory-scale sequencing batch pumped-flow biofilm reactor (PFBR) system that was operated for carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The PFBR comprised of two 16.5l tanks (Reactors 1 and 2), each with a biofilm module of 2m(2) surface area. To facilitate the growth of AOB and PAOs in the reactor biofilms, the influent wastewater was held in Reactor 1 under stagnant un-aerated conditions for 6 h after feeding, and was then pumped over and back between Reactors 1 and 2 for 12 h, creating aerobic conditions in the two reactors during this period; as a consequence, the biofilm in Reactor 2 was in an aerobic environment for almost all the 18.2 h operating cycle. A combination of micro-sensor measurements, molecular techniques, batch experiments and reactor studies were carried out to analyse the performance of the PFBR system. After 100 days operation at a filtered chemical oxygen demand (COD(f)) loading rate of 3.46 g/m(2) per day, the removal efficiencies were 95% COD(f), 87% TN(f) and 74% TP(f). While the PFBR microbial community structure and function were found to be highly diversified with substantial AOB and PAO populations, about 70% of the phosphorus release potential and almost 100% of the nitrification potential were located in Reactors 1 and 2, respectively. Co-enrichment of AOB and PAOs was realized in the Reactor 2 biofilm, where molecular analyses revealed unexpected microbial distributions at micro-scale, with population peaks of AOB in a 100-250 microm deep sub-surface zone and of PAOs in the 0-150 microm surface zone. The micro-distribution of AOB coincided with the position of the nitrification peak identified during micro-sensor analyses. The study demonstrates that enrichment of PAOs can be realized in a constant or near constant aerobic biofilm environment. Furthermore, the findings suggest

Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) of Carbon Steel (CS) piping has been one of main issues in Light-Water Nuclear Reactor (LWRs). Wall thinning of CS piping due to FAC increases potential risk of pipe rupture and cost for inspection and replacement of damaged pipes. In particular, corrosion products generated by FAC of CS piping brought steam generator (SG) tube corrosion and degradation of thermal performance, when it intruded and accumulated in secondary side of PWR. To preserve SG integrity by suppressing the corrosion of CS, High-AVT chemistry (Feedwater pH9.8±0.2) has been adopted to Tsuruga-2 (1160 MWe PWR, commercial operation in 1987) in July 2005 instead of conventional Low-AVT chemistry (Feedwater pH 9.3). By the High-AVT adoption, the accumulation rate of iron in SG was reduced to one-quarter of that under conventional Low-AVT. As a result, a tendency to degradation of the SG thermal efficiency was improved. On the other hand, it was clarified that High-AVT is ineffective against Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) at the region where the flow turbulence is much larger. By contrast, wall thinning of CS feed water pipes due to FAC has been successfully controlled by oxygen treatment (OT) for long time in BWRs. Because Magnetite film formed on CS surface under AVT chemistry has higher solubility and porosity in comparison with Hematite film, which is formed under OT. In this paper, behavior of the FAC under various pH and dissolved oxygen concentration are discussed based on the actual wall thinning rate of BWR and PWR plant and experimental results by FAC test-loop. And, it is clarified that the FAC is suppressed even under extremely low DO concentration such as 2ppb under AVT condition in PWR. Based on this result, we propose the oxygenated water chemistry (OWC) for PWR secondary system which can mitigate the FAC of CS piping without any adverse effect for the SG integrity. Furthermore, the applicability and effectiveness of this concept developed for FAC

The thermohydraulic evolution of a refrigerating channel of the MTR (Materials Testing Reactors) RA-6 reactor's core, at the Bariloche Atomic Center, has been studied during the transient caused by the primary system's pump decommissioning. This transient constitutes one of the reactor's operating power boundaries due to the maximum temperature permissible in fuel plates. The problem regarding the thermohydraulic code altered for the rectangular geometry calculation characteristic of the MTR design is analyzed. (Author) [es

We entrapped lipase in electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers of approximately 1 mum in diameter and evaluated the transesterification activity by converting (s)-glycidol to glycidyl n-butyrate with vinyl n-butyrate. The initial transesterification rate of the entrapped lipase was 5.2-fold faster than that of non-treated lipase. The fibrous membrane could be used as a component of a flow-through reactor for continuous transesterification.

A new catalytic reactor for commercial steam reforming (nickel-based) catalysts has been calculated designed, constructed, set up and operated in a full flow mode downstream from a fluidized bed biomass gasifier. It contains 3.9 kg of a commercial catalyst in its full size and shape (rings) and is located in a bed of 75 mm internal diameter and 1.31 m length. Four tests with it has provided excellent results. (author)

A 7-equation two-phase flow model and its numerical implementation is presented for reactor thermal-fluids applications. The equation system is well-posed and treats both phases as compressible flows. The numerical discretization of the equation system is based on the finite element formalism. The numerical algorithm is implemented in the next generation RELAP-7 code (Idaho National Laboratory (INL)’s thermal-fluids code) built on top of an other INL’s product, the massively parallel multi-implicit multi-physics object oriented code environment (MOOSE). Some preliminary thermal-fluids computations are presented.

Techniques and equipment are described which are used for video recordings of the single- and two-phase fluid flow tests conducted with the PKL Spool Piece Measurement System designed by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and EG and G Inc. The instrumented spool piece provides valuable information on what would happen in pressurized water reactor emergency coolant loops should an accident or rupture result in loss of fluid. The complete closed-circuit television video system, including rod lens, light supply, and associated spool mounting fixtures, is discussed in detail. Photographic examples of test flows taken during actual spool piece system operation are shown

The engineers in nuclear power plants BWRs and PWRs based on the development of the ultrasonic technology for the measurement of the mass, volumetric flow, density and temperature in fluids, have applied this technology in two primary targets approved by the NRC: the use for the recovery of thermal power in the reactor and/or to be able to realize an increase of thermal power licensed in a 2% (MUR) by 1OCFR50 Appendix K. The present article mentions the current problem in the measurement of the feedwater flow with Venturi meters, which affects that the thermal balance of reactor BWRs or PWRs this underestimated. One in broad strokes describes the application of the ultrasonic technology for the ultrasonic measurement in the flow of the feedwater system of the reactor and power to recover thermal power of the reactor. One is to the methodology developed in CFE for a calibration of the temperature transmitters of RTD's and the methodology for a calibration of the venturi flow transmitters using ultrasonic measurement. Are show the measurements in the feedwater of reactor of the temperature with RTD's and ultrasonic measurement, as well as the flow with the venturi and the ultrasonic measurement operating the reactor to the 100% of nominal thermal power, before and after the calibration of the temperature transmitters and flow. Finally, is a plan to be able to realize a recovery of thermal power of the reactor, showing as carrying out their estimations. As a result of the application of ultrasonic technology in the feedwater of reactor BWR-5 in Laguna Verde, in the Unit 1 cycle 13 it was recover an equivalent energy to a thermal power of 25 MWt in the reactor and an exit electrical power of 6 M We in the turbogenerator. Also in the Unit 2 cycle 10 it was recover an equivalent energy to a thermal power of 40 MWt in the reactor and an exit electrical power of 16 M We in the turbogenerator. (Author)

Full Text Available The study was conducted to evaluate fermentation by Clostridium thermocellum and C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum in a continuous-flow, high-solids reactor. Liquid medium was continuously flowed through switchgrass (2 mm particle size at one of three flow rates: 83.33 mL h−1 (2 L d−1, 41.66 mL h−1 (1 L d−1, and 20.833 mL h−1 (0.5 L d−1. The cellulolytic phase was initiated by culturing C. thermocellum (63 °C, 24 h. The temperature was decreased (35 and C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum was inoculated. When metabolism decreased (96 h, the temperature was increased (63 °C; 24 h to permit cellulosome production by C. thermocellum. The C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum was re-inoculated and the temperature returned to 35°C. The average gross production over 9 d was 1480 mg total acids (formic, acetic lactic butyric, 207 mg total solvents (acetone, butanol, ethanol, and average dry matter disappearance was 2.8 g from 25 g non-pretreated switchgrass. There was no effect of flow rate on the product formation. These results indicate that C. thermocellum can survive and produce cellulases with C. saccharoperbutylacetonicumin a continuous-flow, high-solids reactor temperature with temperature cycling.

Using the thermal hydraulic code MERSAT detailed model including primary and secondary loop was developed for the IAEA's reference research reactor MTR 10 MW. The developed model enables the simulation of expected neutronic and thermal hydraulic phenomena during normal operation, reactivity and loss of flow accidents. Two different loss of flow accident (LOFA) have been simulated using slow and fast decrease time of core mass flow. In both cases the expected flow reversal from downward forced to upward natural circulation has been successfully simulated. The results indicate that in both accidents the limit of onset of subcooled boiling was not arrived and consequently no exceed of design limits in term of thermal hydraulic instability or DNB is observed. Finally, the simulation results show good agreement with previous international benchmark analyses accomplished with other qualified channel and thermal hydraulic system codes.

An oxidation flowreactor (OFR) is a vessel inside which the concentration of a chosen oxidant can be increased for the purpose of studying SOA formation and aging by that oxidant. During the BEACHON-RoMBAS (Bio-hydro-atmosphere interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, Organics & Nitrogen-Rocky Mountain Biogenic Aerosol Study) field campaign, ambient pine forest air was oxidized by OH radicals in an OFR to measure the amount of SOA that could be formed from the real mix of ambient SOA precursor gases, and how that amount changed with time as precursors changed. High OH concentrations and short residence times allowed for semicontinuous cycling through a large range of OH exposures ranging from hours to weeks of equivalent (eq.) atmospheric aging. A simple model is derived and used to account for the relative timescales of condensation of low-volatility organic compounds (LVOCs) onto particles; condensational loss to the walls; and further reaction to produce volatile, non-condensing fragmentation products. More SOA production was observed in the OFR at nighttime (average 3 µg m-3 when LVOC fate corrected) compared to daytime (average 0.9 µg m-3 when LVOC fate corrected), with maximum formation observed at 0.4-1.5 eq. days of photochemical aging. SOA formation followed a similar diurnal pattern to monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and toluene+p-cymene concentrations, including a substantial increase just after sunrise at 07:00 local time. Higher photochemical aging (> 10 eq. days) led to a decrease in new SOA formation and a loss of preexisting OA due to heterogeneous oxidation followed by fragmentation and volatilization. When comparing two different commonly used methods of OH production in OFRs (OFR185 and OFR254-70), similar amounts of SOA formation were observed. We recommend the OFR185 mode for future forest studies. Concurrent gas-phase measurements of air after OH oxidation illustrate the decay of primary VOCs, production of small oxidized organic

Core bypass flow is considered one of the largest contributors to uncertainty in fuel temperature within the Modular High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (MHTGR). It refers to the coolant that navigates through the interstitial regions between the graphite fuel blocks instead of traveling through the designated coolant channels. These flows are of concern because they reduce the desired flow rates in the coolant channels, and thereby have significant influence on the maximum fuel element and coolant exit temperatures. Thus, accurate prediction of the bypass flow is important because it directly impacts core temperature, influencing the life and efficiency of the reactor. An experiment was conducted at Idaho National Laboratory to quantify the flow in the coolant channels in relation to the interstitial gaps between fuel blocks in a representative MHTGR core. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure the flow fields within a simplified model, which comprised of a stacked junction of six partial fuel blocks with nine coolant tubes, separated by a 6mm gap width. The model had three sections: The upper plenum, upper block, and lower block. Model components were fabricated from clear, fused quartz where optical access was needed for the PIV measurements. Measurements were taken in three streamwise locations: in the upper plenum and in the midsection of the large and small fuel blocks. A laser light sheet was oriented parallel to the flow, while velocity fields were measured at millimeter intervals across the width of the model, totaling 3,276 PIV measurement locations. Inlet conditions were varied to incorporate laminar, transition, and turbulent flows in the coolant channels---all which produced laminar flow in the gap and non-uniform, turbulent flow in the upper plenum. The images were analyzed to create vector maps, and the data was exported for processing and compilation. The bypass flow was estimated by calculating the flow rates through the coolant

Mixing of coaxial jets within a tube in the presence of blockage has been numerically studied. This conﬁguration is encountered during the modelling of ﬂow and heat transfer in CVD (chemical vapour deposition) reactors. For the conditions prevailing in the reactor, the Reynolds numbers are low and ﬂow can be taken to be ...

A new reactor concept is studied for highly endothermic heterogeneously catalysed gas phase reactions at high temperatures with rapid but reversible catalyst deactivation. The reactor concept aims to achieve an indirect coupling of energy necessary for endothermic reactions and energy released by

In this study, a high temperature heat transfer and stress analysis of a 61-pin test fuel assembly scaled down from the full scale 217-pin sub-assembly was conducted. The reactor core subchannel flow characteristic test will be conducted to evaluate uncertainties in computer codes used for reactor core thermal hydraulic design. Stress analysis for a 61-pin fuel assembly scaled down from Prototype Generation IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor was conducted and structural integrity in terms of load controlled stress limits was conducted. In this study, The evaluations on load-controlled stress limits for a 61-pin test fuel assembly to be used for reactor core subchannel flow distribution tests were conducted assuming that the test assembly is installed in a Prototype Generation IV Sodium-cooled fast reactor core. The 61-pin test assembly has the geometric similarity on P/D and H/D with PGSFR and material of fuel assembly is austenitic stainless steel 316L. The stress analysis results showed that 4.05MPa under primary load occurred at mid part of the test assembly and it was shown that the value of 4.05Mpa was far smaller than the code allowable of 127MPa. , it was shown that the stress intensity due to due to primary load is very small. The stress analysis results under primary and secondary loads showed that maximum stress intensity of 84.08MPa occurred at upper flange tangent to outer casing and the value was well within the code allowable of 268.8MPa. Integrity evaluations based on strain limits and creep-fatigue damage are underway according to the elevated design codes

Poor air quality causes an estimated 2.6-4.4 million premature deaths per year. Hazardous conditions form when meteorological components allow the accumulation of pollutants in the near-surface atmosphere. Global-warming-driven changes to atmospheric circulation and the hydrological cycle are expected to alter the meteorological components that control pollutant build-up and dispersal, but the magnitude, direction, geographic footprint and public health impact of this alteration remain unclear. We used an air stagnation index and an ensemble of bias-corrected climate model simulations to quantify the response of stagnation occurrence and persistence to global warming. Our analysis projects increases in stagnation occurrence that cover 55% of the current global population, with areas of increase affecting ten times more people than areas of decrease. By the late twenty-first century, robust increases of up to 40 days per year are projected throughout the majority of the tropics and subtropics, as well as within isolated mid-latitude regions. Potential impacts over India, Mexico and the western US are particularly acute owing to the intersection of large populations and increases in the persistence of stagnation events, including those of extreme duration. These results indicate that anthropogenic climate change is likely to alter the level of pollutant management required to meet future air quality targets.

The use of anaerobic processes to treat low-strength wastewater has been increasing in recent years due to their favourable performance-costs balance. For optimal results, it is necessary to identify reactor configurations that are best suited for this kind of application. This paper reports on the comparative study carried out with two high-rate anaerobic reactor systems with the objective of evaluating their performances when used for the treatment of low-strength, complex wastewater. One of the systems is the commonly used up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The other is the up-flow staged sludge bed (USSB) system in which the reactor was divided longitudinally into 3, 5 and 7 compartments by the use of baffles. The reactors (9 l) were fed with a synthetic, soluble and colloidal waste (chemical oxygen demand (COD) flow hydraulics, between plug-flow and completely-mixed, in the UASB and 7 stages USSB reactors allowed efficient degradation of substrates with minimum effluent concentrations. Low number of compartments in the USSB reactors increased the levels of short-circuiting thus reducing substrate removal efficiencies. All reactors showed high COD removal efficiencies (93-98%) and thus can be regarded as suitable for the treatment of low strength, complex wastewater. Staged anaerobic reactors can be a good alternative for this kind of application provided they are fitted with a large enough (> or =7) number of compartments to fully take advantage of their strengths. Scale factors seem to have influenced importantly on the comparison between one and multi staged sludge-bed reactors and, therefore, observations made here could change at larger reactor volumes.

A new multidimensional (3 and 2D) anaerobic digestion model for cylindrical reactor with non-uniform influent concentration distributions was developed to study the way in which mixing intensity affects the efficiency of continuous-flow anaerobic digestion. Batch experiments reported and simulated earlier by Vavilin and Angelidaki (2005) were used to modernize a kinetic scheme and to obtain the corresponding kinetic coefficients. In the new models, hydrolytic microorganisms were included using Contois kinetics for the hydrolysis/acidogenesis degradation of municipal solid waste (MSW). Monod kinetics was applied for description of methanogenesis. Both hydrolytic and methanogenic microorganisms were assumed to be inhibited by high volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration. According to the new distributed models, the mixing level reduction expressed by increasing dimensionless Peclet number may improve the continuous flowreactor performance at the relatively low influent methanogenic biomass concentration. In the continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) there are two steady states with and without methane production at slightly different values of initial methanogenic biomass concentration. In the system, the threshold methanogenic biomass concentration existed because of inhibition by high VFA concentration. High methanogenic biomass concentration is required for efficient anaerobic digestion of MSW in order to avoid possible inhibition due to high VFA build-up. Thus, CSTR configuration might have unstable dynamics at high organic loading as shown in earlier experiments carried out by Stroot et al. (2001). A gradual increase of organic loading during the start up of a completely mixed digester causing an accumulation of methanogenic biomass is a solution to prevent a probable digester failure. According to the distributed models a plug-flowreactor with non-uniform influent concentration distributions where methanogenic and hydrolytic microorganisms are separated

Full Text Available An analysis is executed to study the influence of heat generation/absorption on tangent hyperbolic nanofluid near the stagnation point over a stretching cylinder. In this study the developed model of a tangent hyperbolic nanofluid in boundary layer flow with Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects are discussed. The governing partial differential equations in terms of continuity, momentum, temperature and concentration are rehabilitated into ordinary differential form and then solved numerically using shooting method. The results specify that the addition of nanoparticles into the tangent hyperbolic fluid yields an increment in the skin friction coefficient and the heat transfer rate at the surface. Comparison of the present results with previously published literature is specified and found in good agreement. It is noticed that velocity profile reduces by enhancing Weissenberg number Î» and power law index n. The skin friction coefficient, local Nusselt number and local Sherwood number enhances for large values of stretching ratio parameter A. Keywords: Stagnation point flow, Tangent hyperbolic nanofluid, Stretching cylinder, Heat generation/absorption, Boundary layer, Shooting method

Full Text Available Abstract Background Gyejibongnyeong-hwan (GJBNH is one of the most popular Korean medicine formulas for menstrual pain of dysmenorrhea. The concept of blood stagnation in Korean medicine is considered the main factor of causing abdominal pain, or cramps, during menstrual periods. To treat the symptoms, GJBNH is used to fluidify the stagnated blood and induce the blood flow to be smooth, reducing pain as the result. The purpose of this trial is to identify the efficacy of GJBNH in dysmenorrhea caused by blood stagnation. Methods This study is a multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, controlled trial with two parallel arms: the group taking GJBNH and the group taking placebo. 100 patients (women from age 18 to 35 will be enrolled to the trial. Through randomization 50 patients will be in experiment arm, and the other 50 patients will be in control arm. At the second visit (baseline, all participants who were already screened that they fulfil both the inclusion and the exclusion criteria will be randomised into two groups. Each group will take the intervention three times per day during two menstrual cycles. After the treatment for two cycles, each patient will be followed up during their 3rd, 4th and 5th menstrual cycles. From the screening (Visit 1 through the second follow-up (Visit 6 the entire process will take 25 weeks. Discussion This trial will provide evidence for the effectiveness of GJBNH in treating periodical pain due to dysmenorrhea that is caused by blood stagnation. The primary outcome between the two groups will be measured by changes in the Visual Analogue Score (VAS of pain. The secondary outcome will be measured by the Blood Stagnation Scale, the Short-form McGill questionnaire and the COX menstrual symptom scale. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA and repeated measured ANOVA will be used to analyze the data analysis. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN30426947

Full Text Available The continuous flow synthesis of a range of organic solutions of N,N-dialkyl-N-chloramines is described using either a bespoke meso-scale tubular reactor with static mixers or a continuous stirred tank reactor. Both reactors promote the efficient mixing of a biphasic solution of N,N-dialkylamine in organic solvent, and aqueous sodium hypochlorite to achieve near quantitative conversions, in 72–100% in situ yields, and useful productivities of around 0.05 mol/h with residence times from 3 to 20 minutes. Initial calorimetric studies have been carried out to inform on reaction exotherms, rates and safe operation. Amines which partition mainly in the organic phase require longer reaction times, provided by the CSTR, to compensate for low mass transfer rates in the biphasic system. The green metrics of the reaction have been assessed and compared to existing procedures and have shown the continuous process is improved over previous procedures. The organic solutions of N,N-dialkyl-N-chloramines produced continuously will enable their use in tandem flow reactions with a range of nucleophilic substrates.

The continuous flow synthesis of a range of organic solutions of N,N-dialkyl-N-chloramines is described using either a bespoke meso-scale tubular reactor with static mixers or a continuous stirred tank reactor. Both reactors promote the efficient mixing of a biphasic solution of N,N-dialkylamine in organic solvent, and aqueous sodium hypochlorite to achieve near quantitative conversions, in 72-100% in situ yields, and useful productivities of around 0.05 mol/h with residence times from 3 to 20 minutes. Initial calorimetric studies have been carried out to inform on reaction exotherms, rates and safe operation. Amines which partition mainly in the organic phase require longer reaction times, provided by the CSTR, to compensate for low mass transfer rates in the biphasic system. The green metrics of the reaction have been assessed and compared to existing procedures and have shown the continuous process is improved over previous procedures. The organic solutions of N,N-dialkyl-N-chloramines produced continuously will enable their use in tandem flow reactions with a range of nucleophilic substrates.

In order to investigate the two-phase flow behaviour in a complex reactor-typical geometry and to supply suitable data for CFD code validation, a model of the hot leg of a pressurised water reactor was built at FZD. The hot leg model is operated in the pressure chamber of the TOPFLOW test facility, which is used to perform high-pressure experiments under pressure equilibrium with the inside atmosphere of the chamber. This technique makes it possible to visualise the two-phase flow through large windows, also at reactor-typical pressure levels. In order to optimise the optical observation possibilities, the test section was designed with a rectangular cross-section. Experiments were performed with air and water at 1.5 and 3.0 bar at room temperature as well as with steam and water at 15, 30 and 50 bar and the corresponding saturation temperature (i.e. up to 264 C). The total of 194 runs are divided into 4 types of experiments covering stationary co-current flow, counter-current flow, flow without water circulation and transient counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) experiments. This report provides a detailed documentation of the experiments including information on the experimental setup, experimental procedure, test matrix and on the calibration of the measuring devices. The available data is described and data sheets were arranged for each experiment in order to give an overview of the most important parameters. For the cocurrent flow experiments, water level histograms were arranged and used to characterise the flow in the hot leg. In fact, the form of the probability distribution was found to be sensitive to the boundary conditions and, therefore, is useful for the CFD comparison. Furthermore, the flooding characteristics of the hot leg model plotted in terms of the classical Wallis parameter or Kutateladze number were found to fail to properly correlate the data of the air/water and steam/water series. Therefore, a modified Wallis parameter is proposed, which

In order to investigate the two-phase flow behaviour in a complex reactor-typical geometry and to supply suitable data for CFD code validation, a model of the hot leg of a pressurised water reactor was built at FZD. The hot leg model is operated in the pressure chamber of the TOPFLOW test facility, which is used to perform high-pressure experiments under pressure equilibrium with the inside atmosphere of the chamber. This technique makes it possible to visualise the two-phase flow through large windows, also at reactor-typical pressure levels. In order to optimise the optical observation possibilities, the test section was designed with a rectangular cross-section. Experiments were performed with air and water at 1.5 and 3.0 bar at room temperature as well as with steam and water at 15, 30 and 50 bar and the corresponding saturation temperature (i.e. up to 264 C). The total of 194 runs are divided into 4 types of experiments covering stationary co-current flow, counter-current flow, flow without water circulation and transient counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) experiments. This report provides a detailed documentation of the experiments including information on the experimental setup, experimental procedure, test matrix and on the calibration of the measuring devices. The available data is described and data sheets were arranged for each experiment in order to give an overview of the most important parameters. For the cocurrent flow experiments, water level histograms were arranged and used to characterise the flow in the hot leg. In fact, the form of the probability distribution was found to be sensitive to the boundary conditions and, therefore, is useful for the CFD comparison. Furthermore, the flooding characteristics of the hot leg model plotted in terms of the classical Wallis parameter or Kutateladze number were found to fail to properly correlate the data of the air/water and steam/water series. Therefore, a modified Wallis parameter is proposed, which

We describe a protein reactor consisting of native liver ferritin of Dasyatis akajei (DALF) and a dialysis bag. Our goal was to study a ferritin reactor for its capacity to trap various heavy metal ions (M2+) in flowing seawater. The reactor is sensitive and inexpensive and can be operated by nonprofessional technicians. A positive relationship between the number of trapped M2+ with the DALF reactor and its concentration in the flowing seawater was observed. Both the pH in the medium and the phosphate content within the ferritin cavity strongly affected trapping capacity. It was found that the ferritin released its phosphate compound directly with a shift in pH without the need for releasing reagent, which differs from the phosphate release characteristics of horse spleen ferritin, as previously described. This behavior evidently makes the trapping capacity with the ferritin reactor weaken, indicating that this trapping capacity is tightly connected to its phosphate compound. Our study shows that a self-regulation ability of the ferritin shell rather than its phosphate compound plays an important role in controlling the rate and capacity of trapping M2+. The ferritin reactor was constructed to monitor the contamination level of M2+ in flowing seawater. Our preliminary data along with fieldwork indicate that the DALF reactor is an analytical means for effectively monitoring the contamination level of M2+ in flowing seawater.

Induction heating stress improvement (IHSI) has been used in nuclear power plants to reduce residual stress in welded sections of pipes by generating temperature differences between the inner and outer surfaces of the pipes. The outer metal surface is heated by induction heating, and the inner surface is cooled by flowing water. However, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient temperature gradient in the places where the flowstagnates and the heat transfer cannot be enhanced. In the present study, we developed cooling techniques for a reactor recirculation inlet nozzle with a closed end and very narrow annular channel. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses, half-scale tests, and full-scale tests were conducted to investigate the flow and cooling characteristics. One million grids of a reactor recirculation inlet nozzle model were used for the CFD analysis. Detached eddy simulation (DES) was used as the turbulence model to evaluate the unsteady phenomena of the jet flow and temperature distribution. The experimental apparatuses used for the half-scale tests were made of acryl to visualize the flow, and heat transfer coefficients were measured at the welded portions. In the full-scale tests, the temperature differences between the inner and outer surface of the recirculation inlet nozzle were measured, and reduction of the residual stress was verified. It was confirmed that the jet flow moved up and down when to jet nozzles were arranged symmetrically. The turbulence due to self-sustained jet fluctuation was effective for uniform cooling in the reactor recirculation inlet nozzle. The flow did not stagnate around the welded portion. The heat transfer coefficients at the welded portion were evaluated using an equation with Reynolds and Nusselt numbers in half-scale tests. It was also verified in full scale tests that the temperature difference between the inner and outer surfaces of the recirculation inlet nozzle was approximately 490degC, which satisfied the

This report brings together the principal methods of fission-product detection used for water reactors. The position, type and method of adjustment is given for each detector. The methods for localizing the defective elements are explained, in particular those using water sampling or decreases in the flux. A few installations are briefly described. They correspond to particular types of reactors using boiling, pressurized or cold water. Amongst the many methods used, it can be noted that when the fuel is resistant, the installations are fairly compact. In nuclear super-heated reactors on the other hand, the study of fuel behaviour calls for larger installations. An identification of defective elements exists when the reactor structure allows it. If this is not possible, a localization in a group of elements is obtained by a flux depression. (author) [fr

A novel concept for the investigation and evaluation of radial heat transfer in fixed bed tubular reactors in absence of a chemical reaction based on instationary measurements is presented in this work. Compared to known stationary investigational concepts one is able to get an increased informational yield from the experimental data especially for low tube-to-particle diameter ratios and small gas mass flow rates to be found typically in heterogeneous catalysis. The question discussed contrary in literature which boundary condition should be applied to the inner reactor wall is answered. A empirical correlation of the parameters for the two dimensional pseudohomogeneous model was found which allows a more accurate description of the experimental findings than known approaches from literature. The experiments were conducted for spherical particles and hollow cylinders made from steatite.

Complex thermal-hydraulic phenomena exist inside PWR because reactor interiors include a fuel assembly, control rod assembly, ICI (In-Core Instrumentation), and other internal structures. Because changes to reactor design may influence interior, thermal-hydraulic characteristics, licensing applicants commonly conduct a flow-distribution test and use test results (e.g., core-inlet flow-rate distribution) as the input data for a core thermal-margin analysis program. Because the APR+ (Advanced Power Reactor Plus) had more fuel assemblies (241EA → 257EA) and the design of some internal structures was changed (from those of APR1400), the core-inlet flow-rate distribution for a 1/5 scaled-down reactor model was measured and high flow-rates were found especially near the outer region of the reactor core. In this study, to examine the effect of the holes size change (i.e. smaller diameter) in the outer region of the LSSBP, not a 50% blockage of the flow holes, on the reactor core-inlet flow-distribution, simulations were conducted with the commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software, ANSYS CFX R.14. The predicted results were compared with those of the original LSSBP. In this study, to examine the effect of the holes size change (smaller diameter) in the outer region of the LSSBP on the reactor core-inlet flow-distribution, simulations were conducted with the commercial CFD software, ANSYS CFX R.14. The predicted results were compared with those of the original LSSBP. Through these comparisons it was concluded that a more uniform distribution of the mass-flow rate at the core-inlet plane could be obtained by reducing the holes size in the outer region of the LSSBP

Highlights: • CFD simulations in the Calandria of an advanced reactor under natural circulation. • Under natural convection, majority of the flow recirculates within the Calandria. • Maximum temperature is located at the top and center of the fuel channel matrix. • During SBO, temperature inside Calandria is stratified. - Abstract: Passive systems are being examined for the future Advanced Nuclear Reactor designs. One of such concepts is the Passive Moderator Cooling System (PMCS), which is designed to remove heat from the moderator in the Calandria vessel passively in case of an extended Station Black Out condition. The heated heavy-water moderator (due to heat transferred from the Main Heat Transport System (MHTS) and thermalization of neutrons and gamma from radioactive decay of fuel) rises upward due to buoyancy, gets cooled down in a heat exchanger and returns back to Calandria, completing a natural circulation loop. The natural circulation should provide sufficient cooling to prevent the increase of moderator temperature and pressure beyond safe limits. In an earlier study, a full-scale 1D transient simulation was performed for the reactor including the MHTS and the PMCS, in the event of a station blackout scenario (Kumar et al., 2013). The results indicate that the systems remain within the safe limits for 7 days. However, the flow inside a geometry like Calandria is quite complex due to its large size and inner complexities of dense fuel channel matrix, which was simplified as a 1D pipe flow in the aforesaid analysis. In the current work, CFD simulations are performed to study the temperature distributions and flow distribution of moderator inside the Calandria vessel using a three-dimensional CFD code, OpenFoam 2.2.0. First, a set of steady state simulation was carried out for a band of inlet mass flow rates, which gives the minimum mass flow rate required for removing the maximum heat load, by virtue of prediction of hot spots inside the Calandria

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from ambient air was studied using an oxidation flowreactor (OFR) coupled to an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) during both the wet and dry seasons at the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) field campaign. Measurements were made at two sites downwind of the city of Manaus, Brazil. Ambient air was oxidized in the OFR using variable concentrations of either OH or O3, over ranges from hours to days (O3) or weeks (OH) of equivalent atmospheric aging. The amount of SOA formed in the OFR ranged from 0 to as much as 10 µg m-3, depending on the amount of SOA precursor gases in ambient air. Typically, more SOA was formed during nighttime than daytime, and more from OH than from O3 oxidation. SOA yields of individual organic precursors under OFR conditions were measured by standard addition into ambient air and were confirmed to be consistent with published environmental chamber-derived SOA yields. Positive matrix factorization of organic aerosol (OA) after OH oxidation showed formation of typical oxidized OA factors and a loss of primary OA factors as OH aging increased. After OH oxidation in the OFR, the hygroscopicity of the OA increased with increasing elemental O : C up to O : C ˜ 1.0, and then decreased as O : C increased further. Possible reasons for this decrease are discussed. The measured SOA formation was compared to the amount predicted from the concentrations of measured ambient SOA precursors and their SOA yields. While measured ambient precursors were sufficient to explain the amount of SOA formed from O3, they could only explain 10-50 % of the SOA formed from OH. This is consistent with previous OFR studies, which showed that typically unmeasured semivolatile and intermediate volatility gases (that tend to lack C = C bonds) are present in ambient air and can explain such additional SOA formation. To investigate the sources of the unmeasured SOA-forming gases during this campaign

Full Text Available Secondary organic aerosol (SOA formation from ambient air was studied using an oxidation flowreactor (OFR coupled to an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS during both the wet and dry seasons at the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5 field campaign. Measurements were made at two sites downwind of the city of Manaus, Brazil. Ambient air was oxidized in the OFR using variable concentrations of either OH or O3, over ranges from hours to days (O3 or weeks (OH of equivalent atmospheric aging. The amount of SOA formed in the OFR ranged from 0 to as much as 10 µg m−3, depending on the amount of SOA precursor gases in ambient air. Typically, more SOA was formed during nighttime than daytime, and more from OH than from O3 oxidation. SOA yields of individual organic precursors under OFR conditions were measured by standard addition into ambient air and were confirmed to be consistent with published environmental chamber-derived SOA yields. Positive matrix factorization of organic aerosol (OA after OH oxidation showed formation of typical oxidized OA factors and a loss of primary OA factors as OH aging increased. After OH oxidation in the OFR, the hygroscopicity of the OA increased with increasing elemental O : C up to O : C ∼ 1.0, and then decreased as O : C increased further. Possible reasons for this decrease are discussed. The measured SOA formation was compared to the amount predicted from the concentrations of measured ambient SOA precursors and their SOA yields. While measured ambient precursors were sufficient to explain the amount of SOA formed from O3, they could only explain 10–50 % of the SOA formed from OH. This is consistent with previous OFR studies, which showed that typically unmeasured semivolatile and intermediate volatility gases (that tend to lack C = C bonds are present in ambient air and can explain such additional SOA formation. To investigate the sources of the

Oxidation flowreactors (OFRs) are increasingly employed in atmospheric chemistry research because of their high efficiency of OH radical production from low-pressure Hg lamp emissions at both 185 and 254 nm (OFR185) or 254 nm only (OFR254). OFRs have been thought to be limited to studying low-NO chemistry (in which peroxy radicals (RO2) react preferentially with HO2) because NO is very rapidly oxidized by the high concentrations of O3, HO2, and OH in OFRs. However, many groups are performing experiments by aging combustion exhaust with high NO levels or adding NO in the hopes of simulating high-NO chemistry (in which RO2 + NO dominates). This work systematically explores the chemistry in OFRs with high initial NO. Using box modeling, we investigate the interconversion of N-containing species and the uncertainties due to kinetic parameters. Simple initial injection of NO in OFR185 can result in more RO2 reacted with NO than with HO2 and minor non-tropospheric photolysis, but only under a very narrow set of conditions (high water mixing ratio, low UV intensity, low external OH reactivity (OHRext), and initial NO concentration (NOin) of tens to hundreds of ppb) that account for a very small fraction of the input parameter space. These conditions are generally far away from experimental conditions of published OFR studies with high initial NO. In particular, studies of aerosol formation from vehicle emissions in OFRs often used OHRext and NOin several orders of magnitude higher. Due to extremely high OHRext and NOin, some studies may have resulted in substantial non-tropospheric photolysis, strong delay to RO2 chemistry due to peroxynitrate formation, VOC reactions with NO3 dominating over those with OH, and faster reactions of OH-aromatic adducts with NO2 than those with O2, all of which are irrelevant to ambient VOC photooxidation chemistry. Some of the negative effects are the worst for alkene and aromatic precursors. To avoid undesired chemistry, vehicle emissions

Recently, King et al. and Wang et al. analyzed the fluctuating characteristics of differential pressure and void fraction by the optimum modeling method and by spectral analysis, respectively. These two investigations presented some new concepts and deterministic criteria, which are based on purely empirical formulas, to identify two-phase flow patterns. These deterministic criteria on two-phase flow patterns' identification seem to show reasonable performance. In King's and Wang's studies, there are at least three problems that need further investigations for the applications to the nuclear reactor engineering field. These three problems are the following: 1. Is the response to a certain two-phase flow pattern, i.e., the fluctuating characteristics, of neutrons the same as that of differential pressure or void fraction? 2. Could those criteria developed from air/water flow be allowed to identify steam/water two-phase flow patterns? 3. Could those criteria be applied to identify two-phase flow patterns in rod bundles? In this paper, parts of the investigated results answer the first problem, and detailed comparisons with the previous work of the authors are given on a variety of items

The sequence of events in a loss-of-flow accident without reactor shutdown in a gas-cooled fast breeder reactor is strongly influenced by the manner in which the fuel deforms. In order to predict the mode of initial gross fuel deformation, welling, melting or cracking, a thermomechanical computer simulation program was developed. Methods and techniques used make the simulation an economical, efficient, and flexible engineering tool. An innovative application of the enthalpy model within a finite difference scheme is used to caculate temperatures in the fuel rod. The method of successive elastic solutions is used to calculate the thermoelastic-creep response. Calculated stresses are compared with a brittle-fracture stress criterion. An independent computer code is used to calculate fission-gas-induced fuel swelling. Results obtained with the computer simulation indicate that swelling is not a mode of initial fuel deformation. Faster transients result in fuel melting, while slower transients result in fuel cracking. For investigated faster coolant flow coastdowns with time constants of 1 second and 10 seconds, compressive stresses in the outer radial portion of the fuel limit fuel swelling and inhibit fuel cracking. For a slower coolant flow coastdown with a 300 second time constant, tensile stresses in the outer radial portion of the fuel induce early fuel cracking before any melting or significant fuel swelling has occurred. Suggestions for further research are discussed. A derived noniterative solution for mechanics calculations may offer an order of magnitude decrease in computational effort

To study on the method for establishing the Qi stagnation and blood stasis rat model and analyze the affecting factors. The orthogonal design was adopted to study the influences of joint stimulations including noise, light, electricity, ice water bath, tail-clamping on model rats. The 'flying spot' method was used to dynamically simulate blood flow velocity in microcirculation. the pressure sensing technology of MOTO was adopted to detect hemorheology-related indicators. And the coagulation method was used to detect blood coagulation-related indicators. Compared with the negative control group, all model groups showed significant reduction in the blood flow velocity in mesenteric microcirculation and increase in the whole blood viscosity at high, medium and low shear rate, the plasma viscosity and the fibrinogen content in four blood coagulation indicators. Noise, light, electricity, tail-clamping, bondage and icewater-bath make significant impact on model rats.

Oxidation flowreactors that use low-pressure mercury lamps to produce hydroxyl (OH) radicals are an emerging technique for studying the oxidative aging of organic aerosols. Here, ozone (O3) is photolyzed at 254 nm to produce O(1D) radicals, which react with water vapor to produce OH. However, the need to use parts-per-million levels of O3 hinders the ability of oxidation flowreactors to simulate NOx-dependent secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation pathways. Simple addition of nitric oxide (NO) results in fast conversion of NOx (NO + NO2) to nitric acid (HNO3), making it impossible to sustain NOx at levels that are sufficient to compete with hydroperoxy (HO2) radicals as a sink for organic peroxy (RO2) radicals. We developed a new method that is well suited to the characterization of NOx-dependent SOA formation pathways in oxidation flowreactors. NO and NO2 are produced via the reaction O(1D) + N2O → 2NO, followed by the reaction NO + O3 → NO2 + O2. Laboratory measurements coupled with photochemical model simulations suggest that O(1D) + N2O reactions can be used to systematically vary the relative branching ratio of RO2 + NO reactions relative to RO2 + HO2 and/or RO2 + RO2 reactions over a range of conditions relevant to atmospheric SOA formation. We demonstrate proof of concept using high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) measurements with nitrate (NO3-) reagent ion to detect gas-phase oxidation products of isoprene and α-pinene previously observed in NOx-influenced environments and in laboratory chamber experiments.

Highlights: • Pebble Flow fields at Pebble Bed Modular Reactor was investigated. • Radioactive Particle Tracking (RPT) technique has been used. • Plug flow type velocity profile is suggested at upper cylindrical region. - Abstract: The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) is a type of very-high-temperature reactor (VHTR) that is conceptually very similar to moving bed reactors used in the chemical and petrochemical industries. In a PBMR core, nuclear fuel is in the form of pebbles and moves slowly under the influence of gravity. In this work, an integrated experimental and computational study of granular flow in a scaled-down cold flow PBMR was performed. A continuous pebble re-circulation experimental set-up, mimicking the flow of pebbles in a PBMR was designed and developed. An experimental investigation of pebble flow dynamics in a scaled down test reactor was carried out using a non-invasive radioactive particle tracking (RPT) technique that used a cobalt-60 based tracer to mimic pebbles in terms of shape, size and density. A cross-correlation based position reconstruction algorithm and RPT calibration data were used to obtain results about Lagrangian trajectories, the velocity field, and residence time distributions. The RPT technique results a serve as a benchmark data for assessing contact force models used in the discrete element method (DEM) simulations.

This paper investigates the direct integration of a gas turbine power cycle with an ammonia synthesis loop. Such a loop represents a typical reactor-separator system with a recycle stream and cold separation of the product from the recycle loop. The hot reaction products are expanded directly instead of raising steam in a waste heat boiler to drive a steam turbine. Two new combined power and chemicals production flow sheets are developed for the process. The flow sheets are simulated using the flow sheet simulator AspenPlus (licensed by Aspen Technology, Inc.) and compared to a simulated conventional ammonia synthesis loop. The comparison is based on energy as well as exergy analysis. It was found that the pressure ratio over the turbine expander plays an important role in optimisation of an integrated system, specifically due to the process comprising an equilibrium reaction. The inlet temperature to the reactor changes with changing pressure ratio, which in turn determines the conversion and consequently the heat of reaction that is available to produce power. In terms of the minimum work requirement per kg of product a 75% improvement over the conventional process could be obtained. The work penalty due to refrigeration needed for separation was also accounted for. Furthermore this integrated flow sheet also resulted in a decrease in exergy loss and the loss was more evenly distributed between the various unit operations. A detailed exergy analysis over the various unit operations proved to be useful in explaining the overall differences in exergy loss between the flow sheets

High-resolution laser probing diagnostics at a wavelength of 266 nm allow observation of the internal structure and instabilities in dense stagnated Z pinches, typically hidden by trailing material. The internal structure of the 1-MA Z pinch includes strong kink and sausage instabilities, loops, flares, and disruptions. Mid- and small-scale density perturbations develop in the precursor and main pinch. The three-dimensional shape and dynamics of the wire-array Z pinch are predetermined by the initial configuration of the wire array. Cylindrical, linear, and star wire-array Z pinches present different sets of instabilities seeded to the pinch at the implosion stage. Prolonged implosion of trailing mass can enhance x-ray production in wire arrays. Fast plasma motion with a velocity >100 km/s was observed in the Z pinch at stagnation with two-frame shadowgraphy. Development of instabilities in wire arrays is in agreement with three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

A mathematical model to simulate the dilute-acid hydrolysis process of cellulose particles is presented. In this model, the mass is treated as a mixture of different components. A test case is considered for which transport equations for components are developed and solved together with the momentum equation for the fluid flow. To solve the model equations, a commercially available flow solver was used. All input data were taken from previously published works. For the small static mixer considered as test geometry, the result, in terms of the conversion of the cellulose particles, was reasonable. With input parameters that are relevant to a plant-size reactor, the model can be used to predict the conversion of both cellulose and hemicellulose particles.

Conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and soot was investigated under fuel-rich conditions in a laminar flowreactor. The effects of stoichiometry, dilution, and water vapor addition were studied at temperatures between 1073 and 1823 K. A chemical ...... decrease with increasing addition of water vapor. The effect is described qualitatively by the reaction mechanism. The enhanced oxidation of acetylene is attributed to higher levels of hydroxyl radicals, formed from the reaction between the water vapor and hydrogen atoms....

The analyses reported here have been conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Division of Regulatory Applications of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. The short-term thermal response of the Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (MHTGR) is analyzed for a range of flow and reactivity transients. These include loss of forced circulation (LOFC) without scram, moisture ingress, spurious withdrawal of a control rod group, hypothetical large and rapid positive reactivity insertion, and a rapid core cooling event. The coupled heat transfer-neutron kinetics model is also described.

The last few years the possibility of flow resonances during the start-up phase of natural circulation cooled BWRs has been put forward by several authors. The present paper reports on actual oscillations observed at the Dodewaard reactor, the world`s only operating BWR cooled by natural circulation. In addition, results of a parameter study performed by means of a simple theoretical model are presented. The influence of relevant parameters on the resonance characteristics, being the decay ratio and the resonance frequency, is investigated and explained.

It is feasible that the ANAMMOX bacteria can be enriched and cultivated to red granular in plug flow immobilized floc bioreactor. Average ammonium and nitrite removal rate are more than 98 %, and average total nitrogen removal rate is 86% combined with 14% nitrate production; the removal volumetric total nitrogen load is 2.56kg/(m3 x d). The influence of the influent substrate ratio of ammonium to nitrite on reactor's performance has been studied. The granule structure has been observed by the scan electro-microscope.

Various methods have been introduced for obtaining radiographs. Xeroradiography which is a method of imaging uses the xeroradiographic copying process to record images produced by diagnostic x-rays. It differs from halide film technique in that it involves neither wet chemical processing nor the use of dark room. Literature on this subject is scarce. After an initial promising beginning, this imaging method, once thought to hold the key to endodontic imaging, got stagnated. A revisit of this ...

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gaseous pollutant with adverse effects on human health and the environment. Industrial chemical processes contribute significantly to CO accumulation in the atmosphere. One of the most important processes for controlling carbon monoxide emissions is the conversion of CO to methanol by catalytic hydrogenation. In this study, the effects of two different flow types on the rate of CO removal along a two-stage hydrogen permselective membrane reactor have been investigated. In the first configuration, fresh synthesis gas flows in the tube side of the membrane reactor co-currently with reacting material in the shell side, so that more hydrogen is provided in the first sections of the reactor. In the second configuration, fresh synthesis gas flows in the tube side of the membrane reactor counter-currently with reacting material in the shell side, so that more hydrogen is provided in the last sections of the reactor. For this membrane system, a one-dimensional dynamic plug flow model in the presence of catalyst deactivation was developed. Comparison between co-current and counter-current configurations shows that the reactor operates with higher conversion of CO and hydrogen permeation rate in the counter-current mode whereas; longer catalyst life is achieved in the co-current configuration. Enhancement of CO removal in the counter-current mode versus the co-current configuration results in an ultimate reduction in CO emissions into the atmosphere.

Laminar stagnation region heating augmentation is investigated in the AEDC Tunnel 9 at Mach 10 by performing high frequency surface pressure and heat transfer measurements on the Orion CEV capsule at zero degree angle-of-attack for unit Reynolds numbers between 0.5 and 15 million per foot. Heating augmentation increases with Reynolds number, but is also model size dependent as it is absent on a 1.25-inch diameter model at Reynolds numbers where it reaches up to 15% on a 7-inch model. Heat transfer space-time correlations on the 7-inch model show that disturbances convect at the boundary layer edge velocity and that the streamwise integral scale increases with distance. Therefore, vorticity amplification due to stretching and piling-up in the stagnation region appears to be responsible for the stagnation point heating augmentation on the larger model. This assumption is reinforced by the f(exp -11/3) dependence of the surface pressure spectrum compared to the f(exp -1) dependence in the free stream. Vorticity amplification does not occur on the 1.25- inch model because the disturbances are too large. Improved free stream fluctuation measurements will be required to determine if significant vorticity is present upstream or mostly generated behind the bow shock.

Pyrolysis experiments were performed with steam as a carrier gas and two different feedstocks - wheat straw and powdered material derived from municipal solid waste (ECO-II TM). Reactor wall temperature was varied from 7000 to 1400 C. Gas composition data from the ECO-II tests were comparable to previously reported data but ethylene yield appeared to vary with reactor wall temperature and residence time. The important conclusion from the wheat straw tests is that olefin yields are about one half that obtained from ECO-II. Evidence was found that high olefin yields from ECO-II are due to the presence of plastics in the feedstock.

The major limit in the thermalhydraulic design of water cooled reactors consists in the occurrence of critical heat flux, which is verified by correlation of large range of validity. In the present work, the major design correlations were analyzed, through comparisons with experimental data, for utilization in PWR with low mass flux in the core. The results show that the EPRI correlation, with modifications, gives conservative results, from the safety point of view, with lower data spreading, being the most indicated for the reactor thermal design. (author)

In order to achieve the level of self-design and domestic manufacture of the reactor coolant pump (nuclear main pump), the software FLUENT was used to simulate the three-dimensional flow through full passage of one nuclear main pump basing on RNG κ-ε turbulence model and SIMPLE algorithm. The distribution of pressure and velocity of the flow in the impeller's surface was analyzed in different working conditions. Moreover, the performance of the pump was predicted based on the simulation results. The results show that the distributions of pressure and velocity are reasonable in both the working and back face of the blade in the steady working condition. The pressure of the flow is increased from the inlet to the outlet of the pump, and shows the maximal value in the impeller region. Comparatively satisfactory efficiency and head value were obtained in the condition of the pump design. The shaft power of the nuclear main pump is gradually increased with the increase of the flow flux. These results are helpful in understanding the change of the internal flow field in the nuclear main pump, which is of some importance for the pre-exploration and theoretical research on the domestic manufacture of the nuclear main pump. (authors)